All right vs Alright: Which Is Correct?

There is a considerable dispute going on over the spelling of this word. On the one hand, we have many, many people who are in the “all right” camp. They learnt from childhood that “all right” is the correct form and that is it as far as they are concerned. They are outraged that the spelling “alright” should even be mentioned.

However, in the other camp are quite a few people, especially young people, who do not seem to realize that there is anything wrong with “alright” and that is the way they spell it.

Who is right? Well, at the moment, the traditionalists are. “All right” is the only spelling that is considered correct, but all that could change, particularly in informal contexts.

Why has the dispute occurred? Well, it probably has something to do with words such as already and altogether. Some people think that “all right” should be used to indicate that something is completely correct but that “alright” can be used to mean acceptable or satisfactory. But they are wrong – at least for the time being!

© Joseph Baidoo
Joseph Baidoo is a Ghanaian and is popularly known on social media as Misty Joe.