@skieurope - Give him heck! Being American is no excuse for not knowing a perfectly good English word (although unfortunately most Americans seem to know very few words, and fewer all the timeâŠ).
@wis75 @skieurope Skieurope Your response made me smile. My British-educated daughter used the word âwhilstâ in one of her English essays and her professor responded with the comment, âyou write with the grace of expression only the English can master.â. She went on to get the only A+ in the class.
I wrote about our Spring Break trip last year. DD toured Southwestern University in TX this fall and immediately put the school to the bottom of her list. Two big issues for her were that several students were wearing clothes with other university logos (no school spirit) and a huge Trump banner displayed outside a dorm room (afraid it would be too conservative). We also had the misfortune of having a student who was very distracting during our tours and then proceeded to monopolize the student to student Q&A by telling stories about herself instead of letting others ask questions. She had already applied and it was our safety (on paper before the visit). I know a family member of a student who attends and absolutely loved the school, so it was disappointing to me to have such a bad tour experience. She also did not like Georgetown - thought it was too sleepy/rural. Thankfully she has two other acceptances so we can cross Southwestern off the list. Still a beautiful school and thier community bikes program is very cool.
Common usage, not knowledge of words prompted my comment. Knowing words does not mean using them- I prefer using US English. Sometimes people try to be more elite by choosing less common words/phrases. Others show their roots.
Canât say Iâve come across anyone trying to be more elite by using various words. I know our English classes prefer students write with a broader vocabulary, trying to teach new vocab words weekly and requiring them to be used in writings afterward. Whilst didnât even catch my attention as odd TBH.
During my time at Harvard, I traveled regularly betwixt Alewife and Braintree.
I have an English friend who uses whilst a lot. Makes me smile. I love the variety of the English language. Lots of fun things happening on every continent regarding word usage.
I also didnât even notice âwhilstâ. Growing up speaking English elsewhere simply affects whatâs normal usage. Itâs not a case of trying to be elitist. It did take some time for me to retrain my spelling after moving here.
Itâs also amusing (sometimes) seeing confusion over different word usage in different countries - possibly the most amusing seeing the reaction to an Australian voicing displeasure at his uncomfortable thongs.
Not the best example, as âbetwixtâ is archaic. A better example:
Whilst at Harvard, I travelled via the underground towards the city centre amongst the throng of barristers in the carriage .
Iâve heard that Brits find it hysterical when they run into Americans named Randy.
According to my DC, I am archaic, so the example fits handsomely.
My twins father is named Randy - much to the enjoyment of my British relativesâŠ
âIâve heard that Brits find it hysterical when they run into Americans named Randy.â
Or Fanny.
Lol, who knew that reading British historical romance novels in my younger days would clue me in on English vocab! :))
Back on topic, something about Carnegie Mellon turned my son off. It seemed fine to me, but after a visit last spring, it came right off his list. Probably wouldnât have gotten in anyway.
The âMellonâ part of the name is probably enough to keep a lot of people away.
âRiceâ isnât keeping a lot of people away, so why should âMellonâ?
When I came back from Europe, âwhilstâ was the hardest word to grind out of my American bones. I still have to erase it half the time and replace it with âwhileâ.
OK, Iâll bite. Whatâs wrong with melons (Mellon)?
Iâm wondering that too, since the Mellon part comes from the wealthy, influential Mellon family in Pittsburgh. What is strange about that? And of course Carnegie relates to Andrew Carnegie.