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Gramatically Speaking

Date published: November 13, 2021

Once again, I want to preface that I do not claim that I practice wonderful grammar on this website or anywhere else; I am allowed to be human and I regard intentionally bad grammar at times to show a less rigid view on things.  Does that make sense?  Maybe not. 

Back to Danielle Steele...yes...I have read her books since 1980-something.  She grinds out at least 10 books a year  (at this writing - 179 books total) - she must have a staff at this point because who can produce that many books in a year?  Maybe Data on Star Trek...but we're not talking artificial life forms here.   Besides, I believe that Mr. Data would definitely use proper grammer, through and through.  I hear that Ms. Steele uses an antique typewriter to do a lot of her writing and spends 20-22 hours a day.  Okay...I hope she has good medical to cover that repetitive motion injury she must have. 

What drives me crazy?  She repeatedly starts sentences with "and."  I rememember back in the mid 90s, I took a technical writing course as I was doing a lot of it at work.  One of the first things we were taught was DO NOT START A SENTENCE WITH AND.  There were a number of items covered and that one resonated with me.

There are other glitches in her writing that poke at me as I read...none that notable but I've been wanting to write this piece for a while on grammar.

Irregardless
Now this one is a doozy for me.  If regardless is the lack of regard for something, and irr is the prefix for not, correct?  So wouldn't irr-regardless mean not regardless?  Double negative?  Regardful?  Seems so, doesn't it?  My mom and I knew this lady who was brilliant with numbers, an accountant, etc., and one of her favorite expresions was irregardless. 

Here's a quote from dictionary.com:

Few words draw the ire of grammarians as swiftly as irregardless. The term has been in use in English for over a century, but whether or not it’s a “real word” or one you should use in daily conversation continues to be the subject of debate.Irregardless is a nonstandard synonym for regardless, which means “without concern as to advice, warning, or hardship,” or “heedless.” Its nonstandard status is due to the double negative construction of the prefix ir- with the suffix -less. The prefix ir- means “not,” while the suffix -less means “without,” literally translating to “not without regard.” This, of course, is the opposite of what English speakers generally intend to convey when using this term; for this reason, style guides unanimously urge against using irregardless.

Thank you, unmentioned specific style guides...

That's all I have for this unusually warm November  Saturday...

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