The Kids are Alright (All Right?) . . . What's Right?

English is an American and British rallying point for the minions bent on unifying world wide communications around a single language. While there are fans in every nation, English is also a frustrating reef against which non-American and non-British business must flounder before acquiring and embracing the language in order to enter markets, understand exchanges within scientific realms, fly an aircraft internationally, and, well, I could go on. Of course English is also maddeningly & simultaneously the most evolutionary and structured language. As the fastest growing language in the world, English waltzed past German, French, Spanish and Italian early in the 20th century, edged past Japanese in the latter part of the 20th century, and continues to evolve faster than all forms of Chinese.

Recently I used the word "alright" (as opposed to "all right") in a review introduction. I was deluged with e-mail from the erstwhile guardians of the etymological faith. "All right," they cried in unison, "is the only acceptable form! The condensed "alright" is evil—a vile repudiation of everything right and wholesome! Evil begone!"

Well alright. But they're wrong, or at least they're not right enough to be able to command a change from Kickstartnews.

Why is this of any concern to home-office and small business owners? Because the language is evolving without a doubt, and you need to be aware of what your words mean (online, offline, in e-mail, marketing material, business correspondence, web sites and you name it) to the people who hear and read them. Contributing Kickstartnews reviewer Sallie Goetsch, a skilled and successful editor in her own right, was one of the people who charged my use of "alright". Sallie makes smart, well-organized arguments (I emphatically do not want to meet her in an all-rules debating forum), so I took the time to respond to her intelligent and considerate challenge. More . . .