Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Whilom, whilst, whither

Does anybody still use these words as adjectives or as adverbs
or as nouns or as conjunctions or as anything else?
-- 
I sometimes think that God, in creating man, somewhat
overestimated his ability.
    -- Oscar Wilde

 or as nouns or as conjunctions or as anything else?
Ho sentito usare "whilst" (è un sinonimo di "while") ogni tanto, mai le 
altre due parole.

 or as nouns or as conjunctions or as anything else?
whilst doesn't strike me as unusual at all. whither isn't something I
hear or use
often, but I don't think it's entirely defunct. I'd have to look
whilom up in a dictionary.

 or as nouns or as conjunctions or as anything else?
An Uk friend of ours still uses that a lot. I think it isn't used 
anymore in American English.

Renee submitted this idea :
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correction: A UK friend

After serious thinking Renee wrote :
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"That" what?

 "That" what?
He uses "whilst" a lot, sorry :)

It happens that delu formulated :
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while or whilst?
Most writers choose either while or whilst, depending on their personal 
preference. However some experts believe there are subtle differences 
between while and whilst.
while:
Some grammar experts believe while should be used in relation to time.
The news came on while we were eating dinner.
whilst:
Some grammar experts believe whilst should be used when the meaning is 
‘although’.
Whilst she is new to the area, she has quickly made friends.
source: 
http://www.onlinegrammar.com.au/grammarTips/while-whilst.html
The best reason not to use whilst is a simple one: there is simply no 
need. RIP whilst.
source; 
http://www.whichenglish.com/articles/whilst_or_while.html

 or as nouns or as conjunctions or as anything else?
 From the "Cambridge guide to English usage" (CUP, 2004)
While or whilst
[...]
The choice between /while/ and /whilst/ is a matter of regional dialect 
and style. /Whilst/ is rare in American English (outnumbered by almost 
1500:1 in CCAE). In British English they come much closer: the ratio of
/while/ to /whilst/ is 10:1 in data from the BNC. Like while, it can 
bear temporal, concessive and contrastive meanings. /Whilst/ appears in 
British prose ranging from formal to standard, though rarely in the 
daily press (Peters, 1995), or in conversational data.

 or as nouns or as conjunctions or as anything else?
"Whither" is something I'd expect to find in newspaper headlines
from time to time.
"Whither Canada?" for example. As shorthand for "After the recent
crisis, what does the future
hold for Canada?"

 
Only "while" in any context where someone might also use "whilst," which 
strikes me as either old-fashioned or British. (Not to equate the two: for AE 
it would be old-fashioned.)
It's also a matter of efficiency: rolling your tongue around that L to get to 
the ST simply isn't worth it, since "while" serves the purpose. Maybe in 
writing... no, not even then.
The only time I've heard "whither" used is in the expression "Whither thou 
goest, go I" which is clearly an archaic expression.
-- 
Joey from NY

 goest, go I" which is clearly an archaic expression.
And headlinese, as I mentioned.
Google "Whither" and you find things like "Whither Socialism?",
"Whither Sockets?",
"Whither Time-Warner?"

I think "whither" made it into Zaphod's list of questions in THHGTTG.
Off the top of my head I think he said his questions were "Who, what,
where, when, how, then whither, whence, which and wherefore, and a
huge side-order of why?" but I haven't listened to it for a few
years and don't have the radio scripts to hand. Admittedly "whence"
and "wherefore" are pretty archaic
too, but Hitch-Hiker is a more recent example of these words being
used than e.g. the Bible or
Shakespeare.

 writing... no, not even then.
Proprio oggi ho 'pubblicato' sul mio profilo di Facebook un racconto che 
avevo scritto 11 anni fa e mentre lo rileggevo ho ripensato a questo thread.
C'è una frase che fa così:
"The sense of control whilst being in fate's hands is inebriating."
Ora dimmi che è old fashioned, tze! E' e.le.gan.te! :D
ciao, Janis
p.s. Se qualcuno è curioso rendo pubblico il link al racconto (non è niente 
di che) 

 or as nouns or as conjunctions or as anything else?
From my old dictionary:
whilom, avv. (arcaico) una volta; in passato; -| agg. di una
volta; - his whilom friends, i suoi amici di una volta.
whilst, cong. mentre; -| n. (arcaico) the whilst, nel frattempo.
wdither, -dh-, avv. (quasi sempre arcaico) dove? in che lugo?; -
dove; - whithersoever, in qualunque luogo; - whitherward, in
quale direzione; - no whither, in nessun luogo.
-- 
The worst cliques are those which consist of one man.
    -- G.B. Shaw

):
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Okay: It's old-fashioned.
(Always eager to please.)
But seriously, it's not prohibited or incorrect. It's not common AE. It's 
old-fashioned or it's poetic or contrived.
-- 
Joey from NY

 old-fashioned or it's poetic or contrived.
I wish it was poetic (vs. old fashioned) in this case.
But you just killed me with 'contrived'
Good bye cruel word!
:D
ciao, Janis 

):
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DON'T PULL THE TRIGGER!!!
I didn't mean your particular text was old-fashioned or contrived. In fact, I 
would definitely place it in the poetic category.
Now put the gun down and step away from it.   :-x
-- 
Joey from NY

 nouns or as conjunctions or as anything else?
"Whilom" è la prima volta che lo vedo (intendevi "whom"?), "whilst" in America è morto ma in 
Inghilterra ogni tanto qualcuno lo usa ancora, e "whither" oggi è usato solo semi-scherzosamente.
--