LINGUIST List 2.596

Mon 30 Sep 1991

Disc: Whenever

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Directory

1. Zoann Branstine, whenever
2. , Re: 2.587 Queries
3. Susann Luperfoy, PA dialects-- whenever
4. Marnie Jo Petray, Re: 2.587 Queries

I grew up in SW Kansas, and the use of "whenever" to mean, roughly, "when" is
quite common there. I say "roughly" because "whenever" adds something to the
meaning--I can't say exactly what in every instance, but in the example given,
"Whenever I was in college..." my feeling is that the "whenever" emphasizes that
college was a long time ago or that the speaker's life has changed a lot since
that time.
I don't think this use of "whenever" for "when" is particular to just Pennsyl-
vania and Kansas (by the way, I say "needs washed" too); my sister-in-law,
who grew up in Wyoming, Wisconsin, and Colorado, uses it too.
Zoann Branstine

Message 2: Re: 2.587 Queries

re: whenever
they say "things like" 'whenever I was in college...' in Texas too, but
I can't pinpoint it; south-central rural seems the most likely. I'm sorry
I can't give some real quotations: I agree (with whoever said it recently
on the net) that we should get into the habit of writing down remarkable
things that we may someday want to use as examples, so we won't have to
make up misleading examples when we're trying to analyze a phenomenon.
That said, I will nonetheless attest that there's some funny whenever
stuff going on in Texas, tho I have no real examples to help explain what
it is that's really going on.
C. Kamprath

A friend from Houston who has lived her entire
life in Texas also uses "whenever" in many
places I (and everyone else I know) would use
"when": "Whenever I was married we used to
send out for pizza," "Whenever he finally got
there to pick me up, it was too late."
Susann LuperFoy

Message 4: Re: 2.587 Queries

I have the same use of "whenever" in my native Arkansasan dialect. Many of
my friends from the Midwest, North and East coast have commented on it
sounding weird to them, even my roommate from Elizabethtown, PA. The
when/whenever distinction for me is one of specificity. So, "whenever I
go to the grocery store, I'll get some milk" means "this specific time,
I'll get some milk". But, "when I go to the store, I'll get some milk"
means "Every time I go, I'll get some milk."
Marnie Petray
2qnmace.cc.purdue.edu