"alright" vs "all right"

[nessie]

Hi,
I've read in many dictionaries that "alright" is considered by many people to be incorrect and should not be used. However when I searched in the BNC, "alright" turned out with more results than "all right".
Have you any ideas about this?

Regards
Nessie
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Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Alan]

Hi,

Old conservatives like me prefer 'all right' but it is becoming more and more common for people to use 'alright'. This has happened to (all ready) 'already' and (all ways) 'always'.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[nessie]

Hi Alan,
Thanks for the interesting information about "all ready" => "already" and "all ways" => "always"

And I don't think you are conservative at all (when you accept the use of "and" at the beginning of a sentence)

[Jamie (K)]

When my father was a child, he was taught to write "to-day" and "to-morrow", but those have now been merged into single words, "today" and "tomorrow". These changes happen over time.

The restriction against using "and" or "but" at the beginning of a sentence was mainly contrived for children, so that they would learn to write full sentences instead of fragments. Once we're adults, we can judiciously begin full sentences with those conjunctions, and good writers have done so for centuries.

[nessie]

Thanks for your idea, Jamie
And another question has arisen in my mind: Is the use of "and" or "but" at the beginning of a sentence acceptable in formal/academic writings?

Many thanks in advance
Nessie.

[Jamie (K)]

Yes, if it's done correctly. The trick is understanding how to do it correctly.

[Molly]

If young, alright's alright, for many.

Often heard as "awright" in parts of Britain.

[MrPedantic]

[Molly]

Indeed it may be, but my point was that, mostly, I only hear old/older people complaining about "alright". And it only pips "semantic" by one year.

[MrPedantic]

What do the young/younger people complain about?

MrP

[Molly]

Mostly, prescriptivists and acne?

[Jamie (K)]

[Molly]

[Jamie (K)]

[Haihao]