All right

Colin   Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:59 am GMT
Do you think "alright" is all right?
Travis   Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:04 am GMT
Emphatically yes. At least today, in much of English as a whole, "all right" and "alright" have come to not only have very distinct meanings, but furthermore to be pronounced differently. Consequently, to insist on the old prescriptivist line that they must both be written "all right" is quite nonsensical overall.
Guest   Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:10 am GMT
Emphatically no, but I'm interested in how they are pronounced differently, although I do so jocularly in order to teach my children that one is correct, and the other displays appalling ignorance.
Hermione   Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:26 am GMT
You get a lot of opinions here, and probably can learn a reasonable amount about the terminology of linguistics and phonetics, or at least be guided in that respect, but you don't get much informed guidance on grammar, syntax, spelling or pronunciation.

As most of the participants are from one continent, their opinions are always to the fore, and those of other native English speakers are usually swamped or ridiculed.
Kirk   Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:26 am GMT
"Alright" is increasingly accepted in the written language. I personally much prefer it over "all right" so I usually use "alright."
Kirk   Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:35 am GMT
<<As most of the participants are from one continent, their opinions are always to the fore, and those of other native English speakers are usually swamped or ridiculed.>>

Actually some of the most ridiculed on this forum are those from that "one continent" (assuming that's North America--and besides, there are native and nonnative English speakers here from pretty much everywhere), due to a certain few posters here (from North America) who seem to find speculation and folk-linguistic hearsay an acceptable and reliable source of linguistic information. Anyway, no one need fear ridicule no matter their geographical origin as long as they present their information in a clear, logical fashion and back it up with sources when necessary.
Colin   Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:42 am GMT
Thank you all. I will confess a personal preference for the original form, but understand that it's on the way out.
Kirk   Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:49 am GMT
<<I will confess a personal preference for the original form, but understand that it's on the way out.>>

Oh, who knows. "All right" might stick around for a long time yet, even with "alright"'s several-decade slow-but-steady climb to acceptance in the written language.
C6137CK   Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:08 am GMT
Interesting.

We are essentially arguing over an entirely artificial writing convention. It goes without saying that it is a non-issue in the spoken language as there is no difference in the pronunciation. In essence, we're arguing whether "colour" or "color" is correct.

The spelling "alright" is a perfectly acceptable alternative to "all right." However, the two are not universally synonymous in writing. The use of "alright" is generally restricted to the meaning "OK/quite/indeed":

Are you all right? Are you alright?

All right, let's go! Alright, let's go!

Oh, she's angry all right. Oh, she's angry alright.

But note that "alright" cannot replace "all right" when "all" and "right" are used quite distinctly from one another:

All right-handed people NOT Alright-handed people

Did Jim do well answering those questions? Yes, he got them all right.

NOT

Did Jim do well answering those questions? Yes, he got them alright.
Travis   Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:27 am GMT
>>Emphatically no, but I'm interested in how they are pronounced differently, although I do so jocularly in order to teach my children that one is correct, and the other displays appalling ignorance.<<

At least here, the two are pronounced as:

"all right" : [O:L\"r\@I?]
"alright" : [O:"r\@I?]
Damian in Dun Eidann   Mon Mar 13, 2006 11:20 am GMT
Emphatically contentious.

Collins English Dictionary (UK):

All right: adj. (postpositive except in slang use) adv. adequate, satisfactory; unharmed, safe. (All-right is defined as US slang)

Alright: adv. sentence substitute, adj. A variant spellig of all right.

Usage: The form "alright", though very commonly encountered, is still considered by many careful users of English to be wrong or less acceptable than "all right".

Hope that's clear....alright? Sorry....all right.
Guest   Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:03 pm GMT
So a hyphen renders a word grouping slang... interesting. Well, stuff what the bloody Collins Dictionary says. C6137CK's reasoning is more appropriate.
Damian   Mon Mar 13, 2006 2:16 pm GMT
***Well, stuff what the bloody Collins Dictionary says***

Stuff it where exactly? Have you seen the bloody size of it???? :-)
Uriel   Mon Mar 13, 2006 3:27 pm GMT
I personally prefer "all right" but I have no strong feelings on the subject. I am, however, unaware of any differences in meaning or pronunciation between the two -- that's the first I've ever heard of THAT.
Tiffany   Mon Mar 13, 2006 5:42 pm GMT
Second what Uriel said about being unaware of the differences. I find I use both spellings pretty interchangeably.