(no subject)

[beccaelizabeth]

Note to spellchecker - Alright *is too* a word!
I don't buy that it is 'always improper' in writing. We already use other, similar contractions and you don't complain about them! Nobody says 'All right'. The word is alright.
*nods emphatically*
*goes back to Works spell/grammar checker, which hates her a lot*


ETA:
and what kind of muppet programmed it to try and make 'should have lead' into 'should have leaded'. Leaded is what petrol is, not something that verb does.


Similarly 'these murders' should not be 'these murder' or 'this murders'. I'm really pretty sure on that one.

Comments

[malnpudl.livejournal.com]

Ahh, the classic usage question. *g*

In case any of this interests you... from the Online OED:

a frequent spelling of all right.

1893 Durham Univ. Jrnl. Nov. 186, I think I shall pass alright. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 16 Dec. 9/3 Witness said, ‘Alright, come along.’ 1924 H. W. FOWLER in S.P.E. Tract XVIII. 1 (subtitle) Open Court on ‘Alright’. 1925 MARQUESS CURZON in Marq. of Zetland Life (1928) III. 378, I am sure I shall get through alright. 1926 H. W. FOWLER Mod. Eng. Usage 16/1 There are no such forms as all-right, allright, or alright, though even the last, if seldom allowed by the compositors to appear in print, is often seen..in MS.

From Dictionary.com:

al·right - Pronunciation Key (ôl-rt)

adv. Nonstandard

All right. See Usage Note at all right.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

alright

adj : nonstandard usage adv 1: used to reinforces an assertion; "it's expensive all right" [syn: all right, without doubt] 2: sentence-initial expression of agreement [syn: very well, fine, all right, OK] 3: in a satisfactory or adequate manner; "she'll do okay on her own"; "held up all right under pressure"; (`alright' is a nonstandard variant of `all right') [syn: okay, O.K., all right]

And:

all right
adj.

1.
a. In proper or satisfactory operational or working order: "checked to see if the tires were all right".
b. Acceptable; agreeable: "Delaying the repair is all right by me."
c. all-right (ôlrt) Informal. Satisfactory; good: "an all-right fellow; an all-right movie".
2. Correct: "Your answers are all right."
3. Average; mediocre: "The performance was just all right, not remarkable."
4. Uninjured; safe: "The passengers were shaken up but are all right."
5. Fairly healthy; well: "I am feeling all right again."


adv.

1. In a satisfactory way; adequately: "I held up all right under pressure."
2. Very well; yes. Used as a reply to a question or to introduce a declaration: "All right, I'll go."
3. Without a doubt: "It's cold, all right."

Usage Note: Despite the appearance of the form alright in works of such well-known writers as Langston Hughes and James Joyce, the single word spelling has never been accepted as standard. This is peculiar, since similar fusions such as already and altogether have never raised any objections. The difference may lie in the fact that already and altogether became single words back in the Middle Ages, whereas alright has only been around for a little more than a century and was called out by language critics as a misspelling. Consequently, one who uses alright, especially in formal writing, runs the risk that readers may view it as an error or as the willful breaking of convention.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

Various pedants in B7 Fandom have told me in the past that 'alright' is an Americanism. I think it does depend on the speaker and the context though; people who speak some versions of RP definitely say 'all right', whereas most Americans say 'alright'. How I say it depends on my dialect of the day.

Gina

[mogigraphia.livejournal.com]

I use 'alright' when writing dialogue (especially of Londoners) as it is clearly one word then, not two. I use 'all right' within narrative.

It's one of those things like whether the 'god' of 'oh God' etc should be capitalised or not. The pedants are are going to argue one way, the more progressive thinkers, the other.