JLNobody wrote:When someone says "irregardless" instead of "regardless" or "irrespective" I assume a limited education (I'm qualified to make this judgement because I have a graduate degree in penmanship).
But when an educated person says "I could care less" when he means "I couldn't care less" I assume he lacks precision of thought or isn't listening to himself. That's almost as bad as lacking education; he's not using his education.
There is also come colloquial and traditional usage creeping into these type of phrases.
Here in New England, people sometimes invert the usage of contractions, like DO and DON'T. They appear to be oblivious to what they are doing, as it's more a form of expression than meaning.
For example, if I live in a blue house, and I meet someone else who also lives in a blue house, the conversation might go like this: "I live in a blue house." "Wow, so don't I".
The second person will say DON'T I, instead of DO I.
I've only heard this in New England, and many people do it, especially those who have grown up here. The other odd thing is that they are not aware of what they are doing. If I ask them to repeat themselves and think about it, they will switch to so DO I. And then if I ask them why they switched, they are unaware of having said DON'T I in the first place.
