Thursday 5 March 2009

Without regard.

That's it. I have had enough. Of people who insist on using the word irregardless.

Now, let us check what the Merriam Webster online dictionary says:

"Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated remark about it is that “there is no such word.” There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose. Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use regardless instead."

Damn it. There is such a word. There is such a word?

I know what linguists such as Steven Pinker and many average inhabitants of the blogosphere have to say about evolved words and phrases. The main objective of language is to convey meaning, and words such as irregardless manage to do that, even in their glorious incorrectness. Words such as debone and unravel may be accused of the same deficiency. Or, oversufficiency of affixes, to be exact.

Nope. No irregardless for me. Regardless of what you think.

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