It seems like a wholesome development till phrases begin getting butchered inadvertently (see “supposably”), giving the phrase police and grammar Nazis straightforward ammunition.
Somewhere in that gray space between verbal evolution and devolution is the phrase “irregardless,” which has turn into one thing of an area trademark. Although the phrase first appeared within the English language within the early twentieth century, it isn’t fully clear how “irregardless” got here into widespread use.
Perhaps reluctantly, Merriam-Webster dictionary has accepted the time period as a nonstandard model of regardless.
Irregardless has been so extensively accepted that it is ingrained in Miami-speak, has turn into fodder for New Times‘ personal humble satire, and infrequently could be heard on the town fee dais. (Irregardless of how ridiculous the phrase could sound, fake you hear “regardless” as a result of they imply the identical factor and you may save your self a headache-inducing argument.)
Miami Confession: I’ve used “irregardless” on the dais.
— Ken Russell (@kenforflorida) August 17, 2018
Still, not everyone seems to be keen to embrace the position of irregardless within the English language.
The time period has clocked in at quantity 8 on the Lake Superior State University’s (LSSU) annual Banished Words List, which highlights the highest ten most overused and misused phrases that individuals wish to solid into an abyss within the New Year.
The tongue-in-cheek listing, launched because the late Seventies, acquired greater than 1,500 nominations from all over the world for phrases and phrases which are “overworked, redundant, oxymoronic, clichéd, illogical, nonsensical—and in any other case ineffective, baffling, or irritating.”
While some could also be hesitant to desert “irregardless,” the Michigan college says the phrase is redundant, and that “opponents disqualified it as a double detrimental.” One nominator wrote to LSSU, “It makes my hair harm.”
“As properly it ought to—as a result of it’s not a phrase. At most, it’s a nonstandard phrase, per some dictionaries,” professes the Banished Words List. “‘Regardless’ suffices.”
One commenter claimed, “The prefix ‘ir’ + ‘regardless’ = redundancy.” Another complained, “Take ‘regardless’ and gown it up for emphasis, showcasing your command of nonexistent phrases.”
What different atrocities made the Banished Words List?
Well, “GOAT” AKA Greatest of All Time, took the cake. The college says the time period topped the listing for “overuse, misuse, and uselessness.” The phrase is being thrown round with nauseating frequency and at occasions has been watered all the way down to confer with “anybody who’s actually good,” in accordance with the Banished Words List.
The remaining entries had been “inflection level,” “quiet quitting,” “gaslighting,” “shifting ahead,” “wonderful,” “does that make sense?” — together with “completely,” and “it’s what it’s.”
“Words and terms matter. Or at least they should. Especially those that stem from the casual or causal. That’s what nominators near and far noticed, and our contest judges from the LSSU School of Arts and Letters agreed,” preached Peter Szatmary, government director of communications at Lake Superior State University.
Supposably, different Miami signature phrases are susceptible to making the banished thesaurus within the coming years.
Irregardless, bro, we suspect Miami slang is right here to remain.