Webster's Dictionary of English Usage

Fülszöveg

This adverb, apparently a blend of irre- \ spective and regardless, originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century (according to the American Dialect Dictionary, it was first recorded in ^ western Indiana in 1912). Its use in nonstandard speech had become widespread enough by the 1920s to make it a natural in a story by Ring Lardner: I told them that irregardless of what you read in books, they's somé members of the theatrical profession that occasionally visits the place where they sleep -Ring Lardner, The Big Town, 1921 Its widespread use alsó made it a natural in books by usage commentators, and it has appeared in such { books regularly at least since Krapp 1927. The most frequently repeated comment about it is that "there is no such word." Word or not, irregardless has continued in fairly common spoken use, although its bad reputation has not improved with the years. It does occur in the casual > speech and writing of educated people, and it even | finds its... Tovább

Fülszöveg

This adverb, apparently a blend of irre- \ spective and regardless, originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century (according to the American Dialect Dictionary, it was first recorded in ^ western Indiana in 1912). Its use in nonstandard speech had become widespread enough by the 1920s to make it a natural in a story by Ring Lardner: I told them that irregardless of what you read in books, they's somé members of the theatrical profession that occasionally visits the place where they sleep -Ring Lardner, The Big Town, 1921 Its widespread use alsó made it a natural in books by usage commentators, and it has appeared in such { books regularly at least since Krapp 1927. The most frequently repeated comment about it is that "there is no such word." Word or not, irregardless has continued in fairly common spoken use, although its bad reputation has not improved with the years. It does occur in the casual > speech and writing of educated people, and it even | finds its way into edited prose on rare occasion: 1 ... allow the supplier to deliver his product, irregardless of whether or not his problem is solved -John Cosgrove, Datamation, 1 Dec. 1971


... irrespective of whether the source is identified and irregardless of whether all that news is disseminated to the generál public -Róbert Hanley, N.Y. Times, 25 Oct. 1977 The spherical agglomerates occur in these pow

icasts Technology Update, 25 Aug. 1984 But irregardless is still a long way from winning aceeptance as a standard English word. Use instead. Vissza