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Post by Victoria on May 4, 2014 7:13:42 GMT -5
I've copped it here and elsewhere for using "alright" instead of "all right". Personally I even like the latter better, because it boosts the old word count a little. But what, I ask you, is a girl supposed to do in the face of mixed messaging like this?  That's what Google Docs gave me when I typed "all right". I'm pretty sure OpenOffice has done the same thing to me in the past. If even word processors are leading me astray, whom can I trust?! |
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 7:42:59 GMT -5
After a bit of looking around, it seems 'alright' is technically not considered a proper word by many official sources. It's a misspelling of 'all right' but one of those words that is becoming accepted and treated as a real word these days.
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Post by Victoria on May 4, 2014 7:53:21 GMT -5
After a bit of looking around, it seems 'alright' is technically not considered a proper word by many official sources. It's a misspelling of 'all right' but one of those words that is becoming accepted and treated as a real word these days. It's odd that it's so common and yet enough to get some readers really riled up. I've had it mentioned in a review myself and I gather I'm not the only one. This is not a criticism of those readers in any way, I've got my own little grammar issues that really bring out the nitpicker in me. But I fear that if even widely-used word processing programs are not only accepting "alright" but actually rejecting "all right" then they may be onto a bit of a loser. Having said that, Chrome's spellchecker is putting a wavy red line under "alright" now. Which is weird, considering that's also made by Google. I don't know what to believe any more! |
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Post by Daniel on May 4, 2014 7:59:26 GMT -5
Both are considered correct these days (depending upon who you ask), but "alright" will get you haters and "all right" will not. I prefer "alright" in dialog, but have switched to "all right" to avoid the beatings from inflexible readers.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 8:00:09 GMT -5
I know! I've got a better than average grasp of grammar but questions like this leave me wandering grammar sites looking for a definitive answer, miserable when I don't find one.
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Post by Daniel on May 4, 2014 8:05:43 GMT -5
Yep. It's even worse when you find conflicting answers from reputable sources. When that happens, I try to go with the conservative answer because those are the people who will make your life miserable if you cross them. Hell hath no fury like a traditionalist scorned.
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Post by scdaffron on May 4, 2014 9:29:48 GMT -5
Hell hath no fury like a traditionalist scorned. Or another way to put it is, "Don't mess with the Comma Police." They suck. |
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 9:50:13 GMT -5
Yeah, I hate "alright" to an irrational degree. There is something about it that just pisses me off. Every time I see it, I think, Really? You really couldn't be bothered to type one more L and a space?
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 10:00:57 GMT -5
Yeah, I hate "alright" to an irrational degree. There is something about it that just pisses me off. Every time I see it, I think, Really? You really couldn't be bothered to type one more L and a space?
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 10:05:19 GMT -5
Yeah, I hate "alright" to an irrational degree. There is something about it that just pisses me off. Every time I see it, I think, Really? You really couldn't be bothered to type one more L and a space?
*Screeches in agony* |
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Post by SunshineOnMe on May 4, 2014 10:21:28 GMT -5
I'm feeling old because I got caught by "alot." When I was in typing class (hahahahaha) yes that's how it was spelled. Also, two spaces after the period.
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Post by Victoria on May 4, 2014 10:35:40 GMT -5
I'm feeling old because I got caught by "alot." When I was in typing class (hahahahaha) yes that's how it was spelled. Also, two spaces after the period.
I'm sorry to have angered you, o @leebee. I hope you'll consider not setting hordes of furious coffee-bearing llamas on me just this once. |
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Post by scdaffron on May 4, 2014 11:43:01 GMT -5
The two spaces after a period thing can really rile people up.
When I wrote about it in a newsletter, I got hate mail from the Geriatric Comma Police who insisted two spaces after a period must be correct because that's what they learned in the typing class they took in 1956. My argument that since then, we have come up with the ability to use newfangled proportional fonts had no affect on their view that one space was just WRONG.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 11:48:02 GMT -5
The two spaces after a period thing can really rile people up. When I wrote about it in a newsletter, I got hate mail from the Geriatric Comma Police who insisted two spaces after a period must be correct because that's what they learned in the typing class they took in 1956. My argument that since then, we have come up with the ability to use newfangled proportional fonts had no affect on their view that one space was just WRONG. That was a hard habit to break for those of us who learned to type on actual typewriters. (I wasn't even alive in 1956, btw.) But once I realized that two spaces after a period was no longer considered correct, I bit the bullet and forced myself to conform to the new reality. The magnitude of my sacrifice can't fully be appreciated unless you know how bad bullets actually taste. |
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Post by Suzy on May 4, 2014 11:51:58 GMT -5
I always use all right. Alright gives me a rash. Some kind of allergy, I think.
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Post by Becca Mills on May 4, 2014 11:52:31 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 11:54:47 GMT -5
Hell hath no fury like a traditionalist scorned. Or another way to put it is, "Don't mess with the Comma Police." They suck. A classic:  |
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Post by Victoria on May 4, 2014 11:55:06 GMT -5
At least two spaces after a full stop (British English for period, which here is just a monthly affliction) is easy to fix with find and replace. I did work experience for a romance publisher once and they made me go through a popular author's manuscript and delete all the line breaks she'd manually put in at the end of EVERY. BLOODY. LINE. as if she were using a typewriter. Apparently she made them too much money for anyone to risk angering her by pointing out that this was unnecessary.
I like to imagine that she made the "ding!" noise every time she did it.
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Post by Daniel on May 4, 2014 11:55:44 GMT -5
That was a hard habit to break for those of us who learned to type on actual typewriters. (I wasn't even alive in 1956, btw.) But once I realized that two spaces after a period was no longer considered correct, I bit the bullet and forced myself to conform to the new reality. The magnitude of my sacrifice can't fully be appreciated unless you know how bad bullets actually taste. You must be biting the wrong kind of bullet. Steel jacketed is the only way to go. They are harder on your teeth, but have a nice tang. I learned to type on a manual typewriter too, but I transitioned to a single space after the period readily. I'm all for efficiency, and who needs all those extra spaces littering up the page?  |
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Post by Suzy on May 4, 2014 11:56:10 GMT -5
Or another way to put it is, "Don't mess with the Comma Police." They suck. A classic: hehe.  |
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