Alright

Is this spelling a wrong spelling. Is it okay to spell ''all right'' as ''alright''. It looks odd to me. But, I have seen people spell it that way.

There are those who would say "alright" is wrong whilst others might think that it is all right. At school I learnt that wasn't all right: it should be "all right" but if you're writing informally it should be all right.

"Alright" is just written slang for "all right." I'd never write "alright" in anything formal, but when writing to friends I might use it the same way I'd write "gonna" etc.

My dictionary says that alright is an acceptable albeit altogether less used alternative to the all-time favorite "all right", although I'm inclined to think this will alter in time if it hasn't already done so.

The one-word spelling alright appeared some 75 years after all right itself had reappeared from a 400-year-long absence. Since the early 20th century some critics have insisted alright is wrong, but it has its defenders and its users. It is less frequent than all right but remains in common use especially in journalistic and business publications. It is quite common in fictional dialogue, and is used occasionally in other writing

aIt fOoZ u aLL iZ sPeLLiN dAt wRoNg. ItZ "AiT" oR "AiTe" n If U b A pUnK u sPeLL iT "AiGhT". eNd uV sToRiE.

If you're trying to be really formal you'd probably avoid either.

Alright, Jim.

How about AIIGHT. It raises my street credentials :-)

I use "alright" all the time. If I'm writing something formal, my spell check reminds me to change it, but other wise I don't really think about it. In my mind, it just makes more sense, seems more correct than "all right", I don't really know why.

i just want to ask you if we pronounce -L- in-alright or allright.

hindousa
I wanna know that too... i hear lots of native speakers say something like "orright" or "aw-right", is this just because my ear can't catch the l properly where im supposed to, or do you not actually pronounce it?

We native speakers often drop the "L" in all right (alright). It's like "gonna" (going to)...just a colloquial way of speaking.

Yeah, that's true for me. If I'm speaking slowly and carefully I'll say [o:lrait] but if not I might just say [o:rait].

Jim & mjd,
Thanks for your answers:) I'm glad my ears aren't so bad as i thought:P