Guest  +  19919 Wed, 21 Jan 04 11:20 AM Is it ever correct to use the word whilst instead of the word while? Guest

	sohj  +  20446 Tue, 27 Jan 04 12:11 AM You're mostly right, pedant. However, as the immigrant population in the USchanges, there are more and more people here who were educated to use British english and one sees it occasionally. Now that SOMEONE has finally replied to this thread, I can show off a bit of arcana :p While and whilst are more or less interchangeable when the meaning is although or whereas. For example: Whilst many people agree that SUVs are hazardous on the roads, little or no effort has been made to limit their use. One could easily substitute "Although..." or "Whereas..." for Whilst and the meaning would be the same. However, whilst also means "when" and is considered more formal and probably even archaic. I do see it in older (including 20th c.) novels, though, and I think this meaning should be known and understood by english speakers. For example: I saw him while I was waiting for a train. OR I saw him whilst I was waiting for a train. sohj British English

	CalifJim  +  72971 Wed, 09 Feb 05 03:32 AM I've always thought that "whilst" (instead of "while") and "amongst" (instead of "among") were exclusively British. CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,409 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

	kumambachi  +  73015 Wed, 09 Feb 05 09:47 AM Same here, but I have always thought that "whilst" was on the slow road out of common English usage. "Amongst" and "among" both seem to occur in American English however. Whilst "whilst" seems very King James. kumambachi Joined on Sat, Jan 15 2005 New Member 21 American English