michelel72

So, tell me true, flist: Has alright (for all right or okay) actually crossed the critical-mass boundary from misspelling to acceptable neologism? I've suddenly been seeing it everywhere. I always correct it when I beta, but should I just give up and (grudgingly) let it pass? (Or, more likely, take my usual route of inserting a long-winded and pedantic usage note in brackets and leaving the choice up to the writer?)

I try to be accepting of falsely derived terms and variant forms if they serve a distinct purpose. I just don't see any use to introducing alright for all right, though; are there really that many contexts in which readers might confuse the okay interpretation with the each member correct interpretation? Or am I just being too prescriptivist on this one?

I'd usually see what the interwebs think, but the clearest write-ups I can find, although they agree alright is not (yet) standard, are over two years old. That's practically a generation in internet years.

This one is for all the punctuation enforcers out there. You know who you are.

( I wanna know more ... )

So: Does anybody 'round here know more on this subject? Are these types of apostrophe usage covered in schools or usage manuals? Do you know of any regional influence on the subject? Bonus question: is there a formal term for the conversion of want to to wanna(')? I'm interested in citations, opinions, related ramblings, or any other contributions, so feel free to chime in!