While
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Look up while or whilst in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
"While" is a word in the English language that functions both as a noun and as a subordinating conjunction. Its meaning varies largely based on its intended function, position in the phrase and even the writer or speaker's regional dialect. With exception to its form as a noun, it is synonymous with the word "whilst", a form considered archaic outside the United Kingdom.
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[edit] Usage
[edit] Noun
A while and awhile are often confused due to the nature that while is often accompanied by the indefinite article. The main difference is that a while means "an amount of time" or "some duration" whereas awhile is an adverb meaning "for some amount of time" or "for some duration".[1]
- "I slept for a while before dinner."
- "I slept awhile before dinner."
Both of these sentences yield the same effective meaning. Whilst does not operate in this context and its usage would be incorrect.
[edit] Conjunction
The primary function of the word as a conjunction is to indicate that two separate clauses occur at the same time.
- "The days were hot while we were on vacation."
- "I read a magazine while I was waiting."
While can also be legitimately used in the contrastive sense, comparable to the words "although" or "whereas", provided that it is not ambiguous (although some commentators, such as Eric Partridge, have frowned upon such use):
- "While I like cats, my husband is allergic."
- "While Sally plays, Sue works."
The latter sentence can mean either "during the time that Sally plays, Sue works" or "although Sally plays, Sue works" and is thus ambiguous.
Fowler's Modern English Usage disapproves of several uses of the conjunctive while. At times it is inappropriately used as a coordinating conjunction: "and" or "but" should be used instead. Its usage as "elegant variation" is also discouraged, as it is masquerading as a "formal word".[2]
In some northern British dialects of English, while is translated into standard English as "until".[3]
[edit] Whilst
In standard British English and Australian English, whilst is a conjunction synonymous with while. However, whilst is never used as a noun. In American English and Canadian English, whilst could be considered pretentious or archaic.[4][5]
Some publications on both sides of the Atlantic disapprove of whilst in their style guides (along with "amidst" and "amongst"); for example:
- Times Online Style Guide: "while (not whilst)"[6]
- Guardian Style Guide: "while not whilst"[7]
- Hansard: the Canadian Parliament record: "while not whilst"[8]
The American Heritage Guide writes that, "while using whilst runs the risk of sounding pretentious, it can sometimes add a literary or ironically formal note to a piece of writing."[9]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ A While vs Awhile
- ^ "while": Fowler's Modern English Usage, Second Edition, ed. Sir Ernest Gowers 1965 and 1983, and Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage. Ed. Robert Allen. Oxford University Press, 1999
- ^ while until – indexes p. 142, Basic Broad Yorkshire by Arnold Kellet, ISBN 1-870071-82-4. Smith Settle Ltd., 2001
- ^ English Usage: Whilst Or While?
- ^ Strunk, W., and White, E.B. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. 2000. Allyn & Bacon, Boston. Pg. 63-64.
- ^ "Online Style Guide W". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2941-583,00.html.
- ^ "Guardian Style Guide". The Guardian (London). 2008-12-19. http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/page/0,5817,184822,00.html.
- ^ Hansard Association of Canada Style Guide
- ^ Houghton Mifflin Company (2005). The American Heritage guide to contemporary usage and style. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 503. ISBN 0618604995.
