Nonstandard English Dictionary Entries

Irregardless – (ɪrəgɑdləs)

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Irrespective or regardless

(Believed to be the standard form of the word regardless and used in most situations to represent it| Everyone has a right to live irregardless of their race [November 2, 2014; Toronto University Campus; 35 year old lecturer to a group of about 50 students aged in their twenties; History lesson]

The coining of this word was done in the early 1900s by a supposedly through a combination of the words irrespective and regardless. It has met with some criticism due to the redundancy of the ir- prefix. The ir- prefix in this case is used to represent negativity. Similarly, the –less suffix is a representation negativity. It is therefore apparent that the negativity has been duplicated. This criticism is to blame for it being labeled as a non-word. While the word Irregardless has been used for around a hundred years, it has never been accepted into the English word and will virtually always be reverted to regardless by copy editors. The English panel of usage finds the unacceptable. In a usage panel conducted in 2012, 90 % of the panel found this word inappropriate for use in a sentence.

In Batko’s perspective, the word might have originated from some attempting to form someone’s attempt to form a word that means “without regard” the same way the word “irrelevant” is formed from the word relevant. However, as Batko (2008) notes, the word “regardless already means “without regard” owing to its suffix. Regardless of the non-standard nature of the ward, the word “irregardless” has found its way into legal language. It has in about three of every four instances been followed by [sic] (Garner 1995).

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Ain’t – [ent]

Used as a uniform non-past negative equivalent of be. | I ain’t living in this house no more. [October 28, 2014; Toronto; A 20 year old young woman to her 18 year old sister; personal usage].

As an auxiliary that is undifferentiated in situations where the word “have” would be appropriate |The have not got nothing. [November 20, 2014; Veronica from the TV series intended for her audience of mainly youthful followers, Cleaners, personal language]

Used less an obvious subject in various forms of the US language| Ain’t any funny [November 12, 2014; A 16 year old friend to his teenage friends, personal language].

[Ain’t is one of the most widely used forms of non-standard language. Its usage dates back to 1778 having evolved from an earlier usage of an’t. It seems to have been adopted along with other contractions like won’t and don’t. The 1700s also saw to the removal of some of the contractions after they were classified as either low-class or inelegant. This was determined regardless of the fact that most of them had been in use by some speakers in the upper class. However, while won’t and don’t eventually got accepted into the English language, ain’t hasn’t been completely adopted. The criticism arises from its lack of words from which it could be said to be contracted and from being termed as a vulgarism or a term reserved for the lower classes. It has been used to imply has not, have not and is not in different contexts. This multiplicity may have proved the criticism. However, despite the criticism it has suffered, ain’t has remained in usage. Even people who belong to the upper class have completely adopted the word and believe it cannot be substituted.

Gotcha [gɑtʃə]

Gotcha is often used alone to mean a series of things. Generally a short form of got you.

Caught you doing something naughty. |Gotcha. [November 10, 2014; child aged 7 to mother aged 32; personal language]

Caught you. As in a situation when one is falling or running away and is caught. [November 10, 2014; Children playing in a playing field; personal language]

The word’s first occurrence was in the early 1900s. It is a simple contraction of got you with a playful note to it.  It is among the most used non-standard English words. Its criticism mainly originates from its multiple meanings. It is however getting a high level of acceptance. This is despite its lack of acceptance as an English word. It is also reserved for the low class and has therefore remained in the non-standard English category. Gotcha has come to be used in multiple instances even in the formal contexts. Notably, gotcha has obtained more acceptance as a pronunciation rather than a written word. It is therefore more common in the unwritten word even as being obtained from reading the word got you.

In written form, writers have found it handy in some situations. In a 1982 report on The Sun newspaper, the word was used to depict the sinking of the sinking of General Belgrano an Argentine Cruiser. It, however, met with some criticism owing to the playful note it introduces. In this case, it was used in a serious matter of war.

References

Davies, P. (Ed.). (1976). The American heritage dictionary of the English language. Dell Pub Co.

Batko, A. (2004). When bad grammar happens to good people. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press.

Crystal, D. (2012). The story of English in 100 words. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Garner, B. (1995). A dictionary of modern legal usage. New York: Oxford University Press.

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