Albeit and Alot
Another post about English! Why? Because I can!
When I first saw this word (this word refering to the title of this post), I refused to attempt to pronounce it. I just did what I did with all the words (usually names) that I can't pronounce when I'm reading a book. I figured out what it meant and then just pretended with myself that I knew how to say it. No point actually learning how to say it right, not worth the energy (and yet, somehow writing about the experience is? wtf?).
And then I learned it was simply a shortening of "all be it". Well, said I, I must admit that in the grand scheme of things its a good idea. Saves space, albeit just a little, and that's how we say it aloud anywho (anywho is my way of saying anyway, I try to be creative). And then I though a lot. Or, more accurately, I thought about the two words "a" and "lot" and specifically the confusion that derives from writing them.
Alot, as any decent English teacher will tell you, is quite simply not a word. "You wouldn't spell 'a little' as one word, would you?" they say. It is a good point, however, arguing about anything in English from the point of view of consistency is probably not a very good idea. And in this case, I seriously doubt they will win the fight. Alot, like albeit, is just too useful a phrase not to be condensed to one word. I'm sure there was a day when albeit was attacked as a slander of the English Language. In the end, nothing stops progress, grammatical or otherwise.
(This post was posted at 4:15, June 11, but was originally written at the time dated)
When I first saw this word (this word refering to the title of this post), I refused to attempt to pronounce it. I just did what I did with all the words (usually names) that I can't pronounce when I'm reading a book. I figured out what it meant and then just pretended with myself that I knew how to say it. No point actually learning how to say it right, not worth the energy (and yet, somehow writing about the experience is? wtf?).
And then I learned it was simply a shortening of "all be it". Well, said I, I must admit that in the grand scheme of things its a good idea. Saves space, albeit just a little, and that's how we say it aloud anywho (anywho is my way of saying anyway, I try to be creative). And then I though a lot. Or, more accurately, I thought about the two words "a" and "lot" and specifically the confusion that derives from writing them.
Alot, as any decent English teacher will tell you, is quite simply not a word. "You wouldn't spell 'a little' as one word, would you?" they say. It is a good point, however, arguing about anything in English from the point of view of consistency is probably not a very good idea. And in this case, I seriously doubt they will win the fight. Alot, like albeit, is just too useful a phrase not to be condensed to one word. I'm sure there was a day when albeit was attacked as a slander of the English Language. In the end, nothing stops progress, grammatical or otherwise.
(This post was posted at 4:15, June 11, but was originally written at the time dated)
posted by Placeholder at 8:58 PM
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