Re: USAGE : ALOT: the final word

Tristan's already said most of what I wanted to sat in reponse to this, but
I'd like to take issue with the notion that something commonly enough used to
deserve this kind of flak could be a "non-word". It could be a non-standard
word, it could be a bad word, it could be a word the loss of which would be a
boon to the language, but it's NOT a non-word.

In addition, professional writing is a fairly elite and conservative kind of
writing. Most things most people write are not professional writing.

I'll decline to comment on the naiveté inherent in trying to get "the final
word" in a discussion like this ...

                                                 Andreas

Quoting Gary Shannon <fiziwig@...>:

> Fact: Yes, there are bazzilions of entries for "alot"
> when you do a Google search. BUT many of them are
> there to point out that "alot" is not a word.
>
> Washington State Univ:
> http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/alot.html
> says:
> Perhaps this common spelling error began because there
> does exist in English a word spelled "allot" which is
> a verb meaning to apportion or grant. The correct
> form, with "a" and "lot" separated by a space is
> perhaps not often encountered in print because formal
> writers usually use other expressions such as "a great
> deal," "often," etc. If you can't remember the rule,
> just remind yourself that just as you wouldn't write
> "alittle" you shouldn't write "alot."
>
> One site reports that the "word" appears OFTEN on the
> Internet in newsgroup and forum postings by
> non-writers, but NEVER in print.  It is never found in
>  newspapers, magazines or books, with some few
> exceptions in the sports pages of small-town
> newspapers.
>
> see also these sites which preach against the use of
> the non-word "alot": Most of these are sites by and/or
> for writers.  The bottom line is, go ahead an use
> "alot", but if you ever want to become a professional
> writer and see your work in print, get used to the
> fact that your editor will blue pencil "alot" and
> correct it every place it appears.
>
> If you are not already a best-selling author, be aware
> that first readers will summarily reject a manuscript
> from an unknown writer that uses "alot" because it
> shows a casual disreagard for the language, and to be
> a good writer you must love the language and respect
> it.  That kind of disrespect for the langauge will not
> impress an editor who has to wade through too much
> dreck as it is.
>
> entry from the Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage:
> Alot may eventually become an accepted spelling,
> following the precedents of amiss, apiece, and awhile,
> which were all originally written as two words. But
> for now alot should be avoided. Dictionaries don't
> list it, and many people consider its use a mark of
> illiteracy.
>
> http://blather.newdream.net/a/alot.html
> http://www.wordpirates.com/index.cgi/A/alot.individual
> http://www.myshelf.com/barebones/02/alotisnotaword.htm
> http://www.callapple.org/apple2/mboard/messages/1050.html
> http://boston.craigslist.org/rnr/21041353.html
> http://www.netpoets.com/learning/
> http://maddog.weblogs.com/stories/storyReader$6
> http://www.write101.com/W.Tips125.htm
> http://post.queensu.ca/~strathy/USAGE_NOTES.html
> http://home.carolina.rr.com/rcbjr/articles/WPMenuOptionsArt.pdf
>

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