Quote:
Originally Posted by Worldwalker
Most of the words that begin with "al-" are singular words, not compounds. There is no "all so" or "all most". The only one you listed which would be a parallel to "alright" would be "altogether", and that means something quite different from "all together". If you say "we got in the boat altogether" you mean that you didn't leave anything behind, whereas if you say "we got in the boat all together" you and other people got into the boat simultaneously. There is a need for two words, and they're not interchangeable. "Alright", on the other hand, is merely a misspelling of "all right", written by people who learned their language from TV and don't actually know how to spell; they're just trying to write down the sounds they hear. It's not a word; only the ignorant think it is.
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Whilst I agree with the first parts of your post, I cannot agree with the highlighted section. 'alright' is a word and has been for many years.
No need to take my word for it though, check any reputable dictionary (it's certainly in my physical copy of the Oxford English, although I note that the online Chambers admits 'alright' as an alternative to 'all right' but suggests that 'all right' is the more correct form).