That day some years ago, the lovely Filipina guest on local TV spoke English so fluently and so persuasively that I felt like clapping and cheering as she said her lines. If most Filipino TV talk show hosts and newscasters could speak with such polished English diction, with no affectation of a pseudo-foreign twang or drawl, they would be the perfect role models for our English-challenged countrymen.
Midway through the Filipina guest’s spiel, however, I heard a word that ended my enchantment. “Irregardless of what happened during this awards night,” she said with fervor, “the members of the movie industry should forget their differences and close ranks so they can move forward.”
She enunciated “irregardless” with such grace and conviction, leaving no doubt that she did not simply misread the script but was actually speaking her own mind. But I expected her to know better. After all, practically all dictionaries consider “irregardless” an abomination. As the double-negative word for “regardless,” it has been roundly condemned for its logical absurdity. The two negatives that flank the word “regard”—the “ir-” prefix and the “–less” suffix—cancel each other out to yield a positive meaning. “Irregardless” is therefore not the same thing as “regardless,” which means “without regard or consideration for,” “in spite of,” or “despite.” So, strictly speaking, the phrase “irregardless of what happened during the awards night” was sheer nonsense.
This grammar atrocity is thought to have started in the United States as an improper blend of the words “irrespective” and “regardless,” and as
The American Heritage Dictionary points out, the word “has no legitimate antecedents in either standard or nonstandard varieties of English.” In short, it is a big bugaboo, a goblin of a word. But if so, why does it persist in its imaginary existence and refuse to fade away?
One theory is that “irregardless” is better-sounding than the correct word “regardless.” By sporting the prefix “ir-” up front, “irregardless” exudes a stronger negative feel, which of course is good for emphasis. Thus, from time to time, even respectable newspapers are seduced into using it, such as
The New York Times in this quoted verbatim statement some years back: “
Irregardless of the benefit to children from what he calls his ‘crusade to rescue American education,’ his own political miscalculations and sometimes deliberate artlessness have greatly contributed to his present difficulties.”
At that time, the U.S.-based National Hydrocephalus Foundation website also often used the word in its homepage: “
Irregardless of the cause, the pressure of the spinal fluid with the ventricles must be relieved to prevent damage to the brain.” The word may not have gained respectability, but as shown by these two English-language entities and our otherwise English-proficient TV guest, it certainly is not lacking in adherents or inadvertent users.
Which brings us to this question: Shall we tolerate “irregardless” even if we know that it is nonstandard and unacceptable English? Shall we condone its usage simply because some people who do not know any better use it without blushing?
My feeling is that if we do, we might as well admit into Standard English usage such grammatical bugaboos as “
abolishment” for “abolition,” “
recognizement” for “recognition,” and “
supposively” for “supposedly.” We might as well gracefully accept such widespread grammatical travesties as “t
aken cared of” for “taken care of,” “the reason
is because” for “the reason is that,” “
different than” for “different from,” and “that is
to your according” for “that is
what you say.” and “
presently” for “right now” and not for “soon” or “before long”
Knowing its dubious background, however, we should never use “irregardless” in both our written and spoken English. And all TV scriptwriters and editors should ruthlessly edit it out and replace it with “regardless” in every manuscript that comes their way. Together, let’s all banish “irregardless” from our respective vocabularies so we can help every Filipino learn to write and speak impeccable English faster and with greater confidence.
Read this column and listen to its voice recording in
The Manila Times:
“Irregardless” and other grammar bugaboos(Next:
Get to know the fireside-chat technique) June 15, 2023
Visit Jose Carillo’s English Forum, http://josecarilloforum.com. You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter and e-mail me at j8carillo@yahoo.com.
