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https://www.npr.org/2020/07/06/887540598/the-debate-over-the-word-irregardless-is-it-a-word
All right. Let's settle something here. The word irregardless - is it a word or is it not a word? Well, this is a debate that Merriam-Webster is now weighing in on in a tweet saying that it is, in fact, a word. And that has led to a whole lot of reaction online.
Merriam-Webster has confirmed that "irregardless" is a word in the dictionary, despite concerns from teachers that it is not.
So fellow Soylentils, irregardless of my opinion, what do your think?
See Also:
Is 'Irregardless' a Real Word?
Definition of irregardless
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The Debate over "Irregardless" -- is it a Word?
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-- Elvis Costello
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Monday July 13 2020, @03:04PM (17 children)
I'm not sure. The prefix "ir" is a negation. A good example of this is 'regular' versus 'irregular'. So irregardless means the opposite of regardless to me, but I assume that most people will say that these words have the same meaning. I don't know the proper opposite of 'regardless', or if such a word even exists.
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday July 13 2020, @03:08PM (15 children)
(Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Monday July 13 2020, @03:24PM (11 children)
Yes.
Nobody except some USians use it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday July 13 2020, @03:31PM (10 children)
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday July 13 2020, @03:39PM (9 children)
I can still RTFA and research around; is not a crime, is it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday July 13 2020, @03:48PM (7 children)
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday July 13 2020, @03:55PM
You can feel what you want.
Here's one [soylentnews.org] - saying that's dialectal. By the number of outraged USians, I get that not all of them accept it.
Here's another [lascribe.net] - no, it's not an eggcorn, even if it should.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Informative) by deimtee on Monday July 13 2020, @04:36PM (5 children)
Irregardless of what you say, I have to agree with c0lo that the word is not used here in Oz.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday July 13 2020, @05:00PM (4 children)
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Monday July 13 2020, @09:44PM (2 children)
Oz.. short for "Australia", when pronounced with an "OZ traa lyn" accent (try not to open your mouth or move your tongue, to get the proper effect)
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday July 13 2020, @10:55PM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Tuesday July 14 2020, @12:26AM
Yep.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @01:22AM
You gotta take one of those flying houses to get there.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Monday July 13 2020, @09:40PM
reading TFA may be a crime of some sort; even reading TFS is optional for some people.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Insightful) by inertnet on Monday July 13 2020, @03:47PM (1 child)
I may have seen the word before, but it just sounds wrong to me. I'm not an American, nor am I a native speaker of any other version of English. But I do speak several other languages and I recognize the 'ir' prefix as a negation. Which makes 'irregardless' a tripping word for me, just like "its vs it's" errors. My reading flow, or reading speed, gets interrupted by language errors like that.
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday July 13 2020, @04:09PM
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Dr Spin on Monday July 13 2020, @08:45PM
Are you honestly telling me before today you did not know "irregardless" is a informal synonym of "regardless"?
No, I thought it was a flag to indicate the author was a barely literate hill-billy
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @06:27PM
Actually, it isn't. The negating prefix is the letter N [stackexchange.com]. However, since the N prefix by itself is pretty voiceless and easy to miss, it's usually accompanied by a vowel. Which vowel depends on the word and the language. German uses predominantly un-, Greek uses an-, and Latin uses in-, to name a few examples. English, being a creole of Romance, German and Nordic languages, uses all of them (unable, ineffable, anarchy). Because the N is a weak consonant, it gets assimilated by most other consonants, which is how you get irrespective and illiterate, for example (but the k sound is incapable of assimilation).
So if you want to be pedantic (and who doesn't?), the rr in irrespective is a negation. The rest is window dressing.