# While, whilst: differences; pronunciation of whilst



## Andreas_Jensen

Hi!

I'd like to know a bit about the use of while and whilst. I have NEVER seemed to get the hang of when to use which word. Is there any difference at all, or is whilst just an old way of saying while? Are there any dialectal differences in the use of the two words? And also, when "whilst" is written, is it actually pronounced with the -st sound or just in the same way as "while". 

Whilst-users step forward! 

- Andreas


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## panjandrum

The st at the end of whilst is pronounced.
<While, whilst> that is clear, the rest of your question is not.
I'm taxing my brain to think of a good reason to pick one or the other.
All of the OED definitions for current usage of whilst include "= while".


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## Arrius

*whilst* is less frequent than *while*. I personally use the former more in a non-temporal way: _Y is a great help, whilst_ (= whereas, in contrast) _X is always lying down on the job._


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## jennball

I rarely hear 'whilst' in American English, only 'while'. Maybe it is more common in British English.


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## Packard

"While" is the common usage in the USA.

I'll use "whilst" when I am affecting sophistication.  It is more of a joke than anything else.

I would raise an eyebrow if anyone used "whilst" in AE, especially in conversation.


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## liliput

I think it is more common in BE, I wouldn't consider it an affectation. I think Arrius may be on to something:


> I personally use the former more in a non-temporal way: _Y is a great help, whilst_ (= whereas, in contrast) _X is always lying down on the job._


But I think they're essentially interchangeable.


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## Joelline

When I'm in the UK, I hear "whilst" being used in a temporal way all the time:  "What are your plans whilst you're in London?"  "Whilst he was at university, he...."

I can get used to "whilst," but I can't get used to "at university"!


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## Marty10001

It is old English - think about "again" and "against". Personally I like it.


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## liliput

Marty10001 said:


> It is old English - think about "again" and "against". Personally I like it.


This is surely not the same. "Again" and "against" have totally different meanings.


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## GreenWhiteBlue

A better comparison would have been made with "among" and "amongst".  Both of those words are still used by speakers of AE, but "whilst" has completely died out on this side of the Atlantic.  The use of "whilst" in writing is a very obvious signal that whoever wrote the sentence is not an American.


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## Marty10001

> This is surely not the same. "Again" and "against" have totally different meanings.



Of course they have different meanings but the "st" part has the same source. As Green pointed out with "among/st".


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## Randisi.

I'm very surprised to see several native speakers of AE claim that the use 'whilst' would signal a non-American speaker or writer. I agree that in conversation it is a little unusual, but I've heard it and used it, when it seemed appropriate (perhaps when I'm waxing somewhat poetic). Maybe I spend too much time with my head buried in academic writing, but I don't bat an eye at the use of 'whilst'. Whereas the use of 'She's at university,' or 'He's in hospital,' always results in a slight double take.

The use of 'whilst' in speech may be somewhat regional. Do you think it's more common in the southeast?

<<Mod note - With apologies to Randisi for leaving my footprints in this post: anyone curious about the hospital comment should read* In the hospital, at the hospital?* - for university/ school, see *school (with or without articles?) in or at?*>>


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## Andreas_Jensen

Thanks for all your help!

I guess that means that I can stop worrying about "whilst" or maybe use it occasionally in a temporal way, when I want to sound sophisticated 

- Andreas


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## GloryArt

I know that it is not a Canadianism, but still considered a leftover use of speech by certain English writers or in verbal speech by people of a "certain age".


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## liliput

Whilst "whilst" may not be used by all English speakers, I find myself using it all the time. I even used it whilst I was writing that sentence, and this one! Whilst I could have used "while", I chose not to but I'm not sure why. I tried to write that last sentence using "while" but it didn't seem right. 
I think I use "whilst" for the kind of comparisons I have made above, but I don't really use "while". On the other hand, I can quite happily use either term to mean "during".
The above was a lot of waffle but it helped me get this clear in my head:
I use "whilst" to mean "during" or "although".
I only use "while" to mean "during" (usually).


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## GloryArt

Yes, during would be differentiated from while, which seems to imply a comparative quality.  Thank you for clarifying the difference.


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## Elowen

I’ve read that people tend to prefer “whilst” if it precedes a word beginning with a vowel sound. I think this is probably quite accurate in my case, but I’m sure there are plenty of occasions where I have broken the “rule”.


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## cuchuflete

Randisi. said:


> I'm very surprised to see several native speakers of AE claim that the use 'whilst' would signal a non-American speaker or writer...


  I am not at all surprised.  I have never heard a native AE speaker—except William Buckley—use the word, nor have I seen it in anything written by an AE native.


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## Randisi.

Funny, I'm translating a philosophy text from French into English, and I used 'whilst' several times (certainly far less than 'while'). I'm about as American as American can be (at least the intellectual variety).

My Merriam-Webster gives 'whilst' as used in some American dialects. They don't elaborate on which ones.


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## Packard

cuchuflete said:


> I am not at all surprised. I have never heard a native AE speaker—except William Buckley—use the word, nor have I seen it in anything written by an AE native.


 

I'll use "whilst" to humorously affect sophistication.

"Whilst contemplating my response to this thread I imbibed some distilled products in attempts to clarify my thought processes.  I shan't say that it had the effect I sought, but I rather enjoyed the experience nonetheless."


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## panjandrum

Elowen said:


> I’ve read that people tend to prefer “whilst” if it precedes a word beginning with a vowel sound. I think this is probably quite accurate in my case, but I’m sure there are plenty of occasions where I have broken the “rule”.


That's the most likely explanation - euphony.
See also *Among & amongst; amid & amidst; while and whilst*


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## Trapezium

I have an entry in my style guide about this very subject:
*While / Whilst*
Use "while". 
"Whilst" means exactly the same thing, but sounds more pompous.
The same goes for among/amongst, amid/amidst.​At best it's an affectation, at worst it's pure pomposity.


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## liliput

Trapezium said:


> I have an entry in my style guide about this very subject:*While / Whilst*​Use "while".​"Whilst" means exactly the same thing, but sounds more pompous.​The same goes for among/amongst, amid/amidst.​At best it's an affectation, at worst it's pure pomposity.


 
Whilst you are, of course, entitled to voice your opinion (or that of your book), I disagree completely. I use both "whilst" and "while" in a perfectly natural way, and see and hear them used by others perfectly naturally too (see previous post for how and why). It would feel more like an affectation to me if I forced myself to use "while" when I wanted to use "whilst".


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## GloryArt

Yes, I believe pomposity is the motif here.  Could it be an affectation taught by teachers in the grammar quotient of "pure English"  in the elementary schools by which class differences can be detected by the British-schooled as opposed to those with a colonial education?


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## Packard

I think it depends upon the environment in which you grew up.  If very proper English was spoken there, then you would be inclined to speak the same way, and although it might sound pompous to some, it would not be an indication that the speaker thought the same of himself.  (Or "herself".  I would not want to slight the non-pompous, "whilst" speaking women.)


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## GloryArt

Of course you are right to refine locate the terminololgy in the more potent sociological and familial conditioning factor rather than in class structure and the educational system.  Thus is would mean that the term is not used purposely in a political sense, rather received subliminally than instructionally.


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## LMorland

jennball said:


> I rarely hear 'whilst' in American English, only 'while'. Maybe it is more common in British English.



Really?  You 'rarely' hear it?  That means that you do hear it_ sometimes,_ which I find shocking.  (Do you know Randisi perhaps? ) In my experience _whilst_ is _completely_ BE usage. I have lived in various parts of the U.S. during my lifetime, and I've yet to discover those "dialectical exceptions" cited by by Webster.



GreenWhiteBlue said:


> The use of "whilst" in writing is a very obvious signal that whoever wrote the sentence is not an American.



I agree completely with GWB.  In fact, the _Herald Tribune, _the American newspaper published here in Paris, instituted new recorded messages recently that have an American speaker uttering the word _'whilst'_.  I asked to speak to the person in charge, and complained to him that it sounded ridiculous and was, moreover, dialectically incorrect. 

The fellow admitted that he was the author of the text, so I asked him where he was from: he's an Indian living in Hong Kong!   So there you have it.  (He did promise me to change the text, but hadn't been as of last month.)

Laura

(P.S. Randisi, if you teach in an English department, I understand why you may be comfortable using BEcisms.  I've been there.)


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## liliput

I went to a state school in the north of England and don't recall ever being formally taught to use while or whilst. It's something I picked up from the language I was exposed to every day, a great deal of which was not so-called proper English. Whilst this usage may appear pompous to North Americans, I assure you it's perfectly normal where I come from.


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## Judica

I have only seen 'whilst' in literary works. I have only heard it come from Americans when making fun of something. I have to agree with LMorland, its strictly BE for everyday usage.​


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## Arrius

*As this controversy has been going on an inordinately long time, may I suggest a compromise*?

_"Why, I can smile, and murder *whiles* I smile,_
_And cry 'Content' to that which grieves my heart,_
_And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,_
_And frame my face to all occasions."_
_--William Shakespeare, *Richard III,* iii, ii_
 
Pax vobiscum,
A.


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## Randisi.

Thinking some more about why and when I might use 'whilst' in AE, I realise that it may come from two sources: reading texts of philosophy without concern as to the author's country of origin, and central Pennsylvanian speech patterns. I may say 'Excuse me, whilst I go to the restroom.' (And I'll add that this speech pattern sounds anything but pompous; I probably wouldn't use it in front of intellectuals.). I'm not sure if central Pennsylvanians actually use 'whilst' (I'll have to pay closer attention), but they do use 'acrosst' for 'across'' (I can't bring myself to use this particular locution!); this may have infected by speech.


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## lizzeymac

I must live in a far off corner of America.  I am not saying I hear whilst as often as while, but I do hear it & have even used it.  In grade school we were taught the "rule" Elowen mentioned - You only use "whilst" preceeding a word starting with a vowel, use "while" preceeding a word starting with a consonant.  It's the same idea as a/an.
I can believe that whilst isn't taught much anymore, and that most people only see it in poetry or classics.


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## Randisi.

Interesting, lizzeymac!

I did spend the ages of five through eight in Bayonne, NJ in the late sixties/early seventies. Perhaps it stems from such a regional usage.


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## LMorland

Randisi. said:


> I'm not sure if central Pennsylvanians actually use 'whilst' (I'll have to pay closer attention), but they do use 'acrosst' for 'across'' (I can't bring myself to use this particular locution!); this may have infected my speech.



Well, maybe we are honing in on these remaining _pockets of whilst _still extant in the U.S.!  It is true that I have never lived in New Jersey, nor central Pennsylvania, so perhaps I stand corrected and should back off the absolutist stance I stated earlier. 

[For the record, my husband grew up in Wooster, Ohio (50 mi. south of Cleveland), and he, too, says 'acrosst' -- as well as 'fift' for 'fifth' -- but never 'whilst'! ] 

Laura


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## soupdragon78

Here are  a few opinions courtesy of Wikipedia:

_Whilst_ is synonymous with _while_ in standard British English; in American English, it can be considered pretentious or archaic. In their style guides, modern publications on both sides of the Atlantic deprecate its use (along with "amidst" and "amongst"), for example:

Times Online Style Guide: [1]: "*while* (not whilst)"
Guardian Style Guide: [2]: "*while* not whilst"
Hansard: [3] PDF, the Canadian Parliament record.
 _Fowler's Modern English Usage_ deprecates several uses of "while". At times it is inappropriately used as a conjunctive: actual conjunctions like "and" should be used instead. Its usage as "elegant variation" is also discouraged, as it is masquerading as a "formal word".[1]


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## GloryArt

Thank you for those standard definitions which sum up the differences.


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## GloryArt

Thank you for extricating the essential meanings and bringing them up to date with the current online dictionary source


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## F456

liliput said:


> Whilst "whilst" may not be used by all English speakers, I find myself using it all the time. I even used it whilst I was writing that sentence, and this one! Whilst I could have used "while", I chose not to but I'm not sure why. I tried to write that last sentence using "while" but it didn't seem right.
> I think I use "whilst" for the kind of comparisons I have made above, but I don't really use "while". On the other hand, I can quite happily use either term to mean "during".
> The above was a lot of waffle but it helped me get this clear in my head:
> I use "whilst" to mean "during" or "although".
> I only use "while" to mean "during" (usually).



I can only speak with any knowledge about British usage, but not even then with any authority, because perceptions vary, so that to some the terms 'whilst' and 'while' are interchangeable, whilst/while to others including a senior colleague in the Latin department of my school the word 'while' has both temporal sense (=during the time that) and concessive sense (= whereas/though) whereas 'whilst' ONLY has the latter.  I think many in the UK use 'whilst' just to sound more educated.  I hope this is of some use: it's my first post here!


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## LMorland

Welcome to the Forum, F456!

It's rare that someone's first post is a response, rather than a question. Bravo for your answer, which returns us nearly full circle to the comment of Arrius, but with the added authority of the backing of a professor of Latin!  

Laura


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## Arrius

My word! I offered, tongue in cheek, the Shakesperian compromise of _whiles_ in late May (Post#30), as this controversy had already been going on for a some time - now it's already October! Tempus fugit, indeed. But it is my post #3 that *L Morland *is referring to here, which partly coincides with what *F456* (_to whom my greetings of welcome!_) has to say.
However, whilst the latter forero may be right in saying that some Brits use _whilst_ in preference to_ while_ in order to sound educated, there are those of us who use _whilst_ in what we consider the right place, because we_ *are*_ educated!


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## F456

Thank you, Laura, for your reply and kind words, though I'd hardly call myself a professor - but maybe that's a word we use differently over this side too! Likewise Arrius, for your observation. 

Best wishes,
Tom


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## LMorland

F456 said:


> I'd hardly call myself a professor - but maybe that's a word we use differently over this side too!


Salve, Tom!

The word professor _is _used differently on my side ... of the Channel!  (I must admit that I do find it amusing that anyone teaching students over age 12 is called _professeur _here in France.)

For the record, in AE the word _professor _is similarly restricted to persons teaching in a university.  It's simply that you'd referred to a "colleague in the Latin department" and I used the word _professor _in an abundance of caution.

The big AE/BE university difference lies in the use of the term _reader _... but that's a topic for another thread!


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## olivinha

cuchuflete said:


> I am not at all surprised. I have never heard a native AE speaker—except William Buckley—use the word, nor have I seen it in anything written by an AE native.


 
Hello.
So in a study targeted to an American audience, should I change _whilst_ to _while_? 
I read all the discussions on _while vs whilst_ and could not find the consensus.
Thank you, friends.
O

(And how come there is no WR-dictionary entry for _whilst_?)


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## panjandrum

In your context I would not use _whilst_.
I expect the reason it is not listed in the WR dictionary is that it is "chiefly British".
That's the label given in Merriam-Webster.


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## olivinha

Thank you, Panj.


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## AngelEyes

I've been wondering about this word for a whilst while now. (_I'm pretty sure using it as a noun would be wrong.)_

However, I have a question, British People:

Do you use *whilst* often as a conjunction? Is it considered uppity and show-offy? Common?

I see it rather frequently lately in my research on all things English.


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## JulianStuart

I see it all the time on a pretty broad range of discussion forums, marking the poster from the BrE world (always matches any location provided by such posters).  Before I left the UK, I sometimes used it too and don't think there's any uppity or show-offy component at all.


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## Andygc

It is common in BE. I use it whenever I think it sounds better than while. It has nothing to do with being uppity, a show-off or a snob. It is just a nice, useful, word that adds variety to the language.

And yes, using it as a noun would be wrong.


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## natkretep

Elowen said:


> I’ve read that people tend to prefer “whilst” if it precedes a word beginning with a vowel sound. I think this is probably quite accurate in my case, but I’m sure there are plenty of occasions where I have broken the “rule”.



I think this accords with my sense of when I use _whilst_ - before a vowel sound. It could be used in a temporal or non-temporal sense. Otherwise, there is no difference between _while_ and _whilst _(also _among-amongst_, _amid-amidst,_ _unbeknown-unbeknownst_). It doesn't sound uppity, although I'd probably use _whilst_ more in an academic or literary setting. (However, _amid(st) _and _unbeknown(st)_ sound literary with or without the final _-st_).


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