The While vs. Whilst Chestnut.

I was in Adelaide earlier this week. While I was making my way to the city I saw a sign that read ‘Airport Parking – Park Whilst You Are Away!”. I couldn't help but feel a little offended and I couldn't put my finger on it at first. I've been deliberating ever since and I think that it all comes down to the fact that I've never decided which side of the fence I sit on during the ‘while’ vs. ‘whilst’ argument.

I often draw my own conclusions while (whilst) I'm writing, I thought I’d fight it out on page.

Ultimately, the use of either word is decided by which option suits the style of your writing. In my writing I have used both. Professionally, I tend to use ‘whilst’ frequently, particularly in corporate or more formal writing, even though people nowadays think it’s old-fashioned.

According to dailywritingtips.com “While was in use in Old English; whilst is a Middle English development of while. As conjunctions they are interchangeable in meaning, but whilst has not survived in standard American English.”

Wikipedia says that ‘whilst is synonymous with while in standard English’ and that most style guides (both English and American) disapprove of the use of ‘whilst’.

 But according to www.onlinegrammar.com.au there is a belief among some grammar experts that there is a subtle difference: 
While should be used in relation to time. Here is a little example: While I was making my way to the city I saw a sign that read ‘Airport Parking – Park Whilst You Are Away!”.

Whereas whilst should be used when the meaning is ‘although’. 
For example: Whilst I use the word frequently, I couldn't help but feel a little offended.

I think that the most important thing is to choose one version to suit to style of your document and stick with it for consistency and clarity. If you are unsure if ‘whilst’ fits the context of your document (if you are intending to to mean 'although'), then simply use 'although'. For example: Although I use the word frequently, I couldn't help but feel a little offended.

 Most of the major newspapers and news websites use this approach however, you may see the odd slip in an opinion column. For this blog, I’d be more inclined to stay away from ‘whilst’. This is a casual, conversational publication and I try to keep it as close to the way I’d speak as possible. I don’t believe I’ve ever verbalised the word ‘whilst’ in a sentence (I think…).

In closing, I still don’t feel that I've come to rest on either side of the fence for this argument. I don’t think I’d ever discount ‘whilst’ from my written vocabulary, however I think there is a time and a place and that ‘Park Whilst You Are Away!’ is not the time, nor the place. What do you think?