While v whilst
The two words in the title are identical in meaning and use so
where you might use one you can happily use the other, or so I
understand it. The only difference that I can see is that whilst,
or similar construction like among v amongst, seem (at least to me)
old fashioned.
Or it did until I noticed the good folk on the Cloud commonly use whilst and the like so I began wondering. Is this a British thing? In New Zealand (as far as I can tell in my limited, unscientific and spotty research), whilst seems to be used where the writer is attempting to sound more formal, where while is more common in general use.
So I guess my point is, as much as I have one, will British readers be expecting whilst over while even though it grates slightly against my "that sounds old fashioned and stuffy" nerve?
Or it did until I noticed the good folk on the Cloud commonly use whilst and the like so I began wondering. Is this a British thing? In New Zealand (as far as I can tell in my limited, unscientific and spotty research), whilst seems to be used where the writer is attempting to sound more formal, where while is more common in general use.
So I guess my point is, as much as I have one, will British readers be expecting whilst over while even though it grates slightly against my "that sounds old fashioned and stuffy" nerve?
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27 Comments
I love this language.
Whilst you might think the words are interchangeable, on closer inspection you can see a difference. And while we are thinking about that difference consider how these two sentences could be rewritten. Thus:
On the one hand you might think the words are interchangeable, on the other, under closer inspection you can see a difference. And during the time we are thinking about that difference consider how these two sentences could be rewritten.
So 'whilst', in the above, is used to compare or contrast two simultaneous situations whereas 'while' has a time element involved, which is the most common use of the word.
But to write, 'While I understand there are two forms of the word, I prefer never to use the 'st' ending,' would be incorrect - unless you meant, 'For as long as I continue to understand there are two forms of the word, I will prefer never to use the 'st' ending.' It should, of course, be, 'Whilst I understand... '
I always thought 'while' was in the present, ie, 'I'll put the kettle while you take the dog out,' and
whilst is the future ie, 'I'll put the kettle on at 6, whilst you take the dog out,' - it being 5 o'clock now.
And, they live among us, as in present. But, they will live amongst us, as in the future.
Does that mean I've been doing it wrong all this time? :[
I looked up Among and Amongst in the Shorter Oxford and in Websters and there doesn't apear to be any distinction between them. So I looked up While and Whilst only to find a similar lack of distinction. Whilst was the archaic form, but also a northern form, which is presumably why I perceive it to have the different meaning I have ascribed above. But apparantly 'while' can legitimately be used with either meaning.
Wearing my editor's hat - and a non-fiction editor at that - I consider 'whilst' to be very old-fashioned and I would prefer an author to change it to 'while'. It often gives the impression (to me) of the writer being a little self-conscious and writing what they think is 'proper' English - the sort that might get an A plus from their English teacher. (I can see instances where 'whilst' would still be applicable in fiction and poetry, although I think these would have to be carefully chosen and used sparingly.) I never use 'whilst' in my own writing. It simply looks and sounds wrong for contemporary readers, and especially when describing very ordinary actions. This means it jumps out at the reader and distracts them because of its anachronistic nature. For instance:
I swore and grabbed the supermarket trolley whilst Jake answered his mobile.
I've always had a thing for George Clooney, whilst my best mate would shag Brad Pitt in a heartbeat.
It doesn't work, does it?
I am much more sympathetic towards 'amongst', which I think sounds less archaic, although I still wouldn't use it in my own writing unless it was absolutely necessary.
I'm relieved, because writing's complicated enough, without me making up my own rules!
From now on, I'll use the one which flows best I think.
I find it interesting that Whisks and John sometimes find whilst 'scans' better. Personally, I've never found that. While inevitably sounds better to me and when I read 'whilst' it pulls me up to a shuddering halt. I suspect that's because here in New Zealand whilst is generally only used in circumstances similar to those Spangles describes.
Amongst - I do use - for rhythm as I said earlier, and also for emphasis. The bigger word has more presence.
I wouldn't worry unduly, Malcolm. Horses for courses.
Oh well, horses for courses indeed.
Tony: I certainly don't shove automatic commas before each which. It is a rule which I would not choose to follow.
Oh, and it's only certain uses of the word 'which' that can be replaced with 'that'. 'Which direction is the Post Office?' for example, couldn't.
Your Titanic example has the 'which' pointing to something (the Titanic) so it may have some posh name, possibly involving the word 'indicative'. ('Indicative pronoun'? - I used to know this sort of thing but have been glad to forget it since.)
That versus Which.
According to the more quibbling self-styled grammar experts, that is restrictive, while which is not.
Many grammarians insist on a distinction without any historical justification. Many of the best writers in the language couldn't tell you the difference between them, while many of the worst think they know. If the subtle difference between the two confuses you, use whatever sounds right. Other matters are more worthy of your attention.
For the curious, however, the relative pronoun that is restrictive, which means it tells you a necessary piece of information about its antecedent: for example, "The word processor that is used most often is WordPerfect." Here the that phrase answers an important question: which of the many word processors are we talking about? And the answer is the one that is used most often.
Which is non-restrictive: it does not limit the word it refers to. An example is "Penn's ID center, which is called CUPID, has been successful so far." Here that is unnecessary: the which does not tell us which of Penn's many ID centers we're considering; it simply provides an extra piece of information about the plan we're already discussing. "Penn's ID Center" tells us all we really need to know to identify it.
It boils down to this: if you can tell which thing is being discussed without the which or that clause, use which; if you can't, use that.
There are two rules of thumb you can keep in mind. First, if the phrase needs a comma, you probably mean which. Since "Penn's ID center" calls for a comma, we would not say "Penn's ID Center, that is called CUPID."
Another way to keep them straight is to imagine by the way following every which: "Penn's ID center, which (by the way) is called CUPID. . . ." The which adds a useful, but not grammatically necessary, piece of information. On the other hand, we wouldn't say "The word processor which (by the way) is used most often is WordPerfect," because the word processor on its own isn't enough information — which word processor?
A paradoxical mnemonic: use that to tell which, and which to tell that.
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