Most of us develop our sense of grammar and vocabulary listening to others, be it good grammar or spellings or not. Our language skills aren’t necessarily based upon intelligence, but a product of our environment. If we’re fortunate, persistent, and surround ourselves with bright people, we correct grammar and expand our vocabulary, presupposing an awareness. John Clayton, the Viscount Greystoke, a student of Mangani comes to mind. Okay, he’s fictional, but you understand.
I needed to up my game. For far too long, I’ve wondered about the difference between toward and towards, while and whilst, amid and amidst. Curiosity often strikes when I’m in the middle of writing and not wanting to interrupt myself at the risk of my ADD losing the narrative thread. By the time I finish, I’ve quite forgotten my mental note until the next time.
| amid/amidst | among/amongst | beside/besides | toward/towards | while/whilst |
But I finally looked them up, prepositions with optional ’S’s. That led to a myriad of adjectives and adverbs ending in ‘-ward(s)’: inward/inwards, upward/upwards, aft/aftwards, etc. Almost always, -ward(s) implies direction, e.g, looking inward, tossing skyward, sliding downward– any which may bear a discretionary S. Unsurprisingly, a number of terms come from marine navigation and others from biology. A partial list includes:
| afterward/s | backward/s | bucalward/s | coastward/s | distalward/s |
| dorsalward/s | downward/s | earthward/s | eastward/s | elseward/s |
| forward/s | frontward/s | heavenward/s | henceforward/s | homeward/s |
| inward/s | landward/s | leeward/s | lingualward/s | mesialward/s |
| moonward/s | netherward/s | northeastward/s | northward/s | northwestward/s |
| onward/s | outward/s | polarward/s | rearward/s | rightward/s |
| seaward/s | starward/s | sunward/s | shoreward/s | sideward/s |
| skyward/s | stemward/s | southeastward/s | southward/s | southwestward/s |
| sternward/s | straightforward/s | sunward/s | thenceforward/s | toward/s |
| upward/s | vanward/s | ventralward/s | westward/s | windward/s |
With or without an S, meaning is almost always the same. Variants may have stylistic implications, often in the ear of the beholder. ‘Amongst’ might seem old-fashioned, ‘whilst’ might sound classy, ‘toward’ more North American whereas ‘towards’ more British– or not. Context is important.
What are your thoughts?
In the mortal words recorded on Theodore Cleaver’s birth certificate, JuneWard!
Very interesting, Leigh! I had a Brit father, and had to learn that grey was Brit and gray was American, and put the darn u in honour, neighbour, etc. Then I had to unlearn the latter, when writing for an American audience! I get so mixed up. But language changes, and new words are introduced, so I try not to be precious about it all. Except for subject/object prepositions (me/I) I HAVE to get those right, or the ghosts of my English relatives will gather to haunt me!
ReplyDeleteOur 3rd grade teacher explained grey/gray were alternate spellings of the same colo(u)r and we could use whichever I wish. For whatever reason, I chose 'grey' and used it throughout school and ever since. Editors sometimes alter it to 'gray', which I don't mind. My father worked for an HVAC company, so we grew up with 'fibre glass' instead of 'fiber', which still looks odd to my eye.
DeleteMy mother's people counted a number of schoolteachers and indeed, in the winter, we kids played basketball in the still-standing brick one-room schoolhouse at the edge of our property. Thus my grandmother had a British manner of phrasing, albeit with a flat Midwestern accent. In that part of Indiana, people pronounce envoy and envelope as onvoy and onvelope, and the vowel in fish and dish sound as European long Es, feesh and deesh.
Leigh, I've never consciously thought of that optional "s" as British usage, but it's true I seldom use it: forward, toward, leeward. To my ear, "amongst" sounds archaic, "whilst" almost equally so, though I can imagine a Brit using it. As for tucking the prepositions in before the end of the sentence, I know Brits who do it in everyday speech, but it would sound absurd if an American did it. So I don't try to.
ReplyDeleteWorking with English colleagues made me wonder if 'whilst' and 'amongst' were correct and my friends politely ignored my use of 'while' and 'among'. I still don't get mass nouns, but that's a different story.
DeleteLiz, I noticed Americans were still using British spellings and phrasing well after the Civil War. Horatio Alger, Jr still used the U in colour and humour and coinage referred to shillings and pence in New York. Some of his stories sounded more Dickens than Twain.