whenever

[David M. Robertson]

When I was in the Navy, I worked for a while (1971) with a guy from Bay
Minette, Alabama (across the bay from Mobile), and I was very interested
in and amused by the fact that the word "when" was not in his
vocabulary. He always used "whenever" whenever I would have used "when."

I have seldom heard "whenever" used this way in Virginia, and when(ever)
I do it is in the extended-period sense.

   Snake

Michael Montgomery wrote:

> Dear ADS-Listers:
>
> I am working on a paper on the subordinate conjunction _whenever_
> and dealing with sentences like the following that feature
> unconventional uses of the word:
>
>   For a one-time occurrence in the past:
>
>   Whenever his Daddy died, he took over the farm. (Arkansas
>
>   For an extended-period in the past:
>
>   Whenever I was growing up, we didn't talk the same way at school
> as we did at home. (Tennessee)
>
> Has anyone else observed such usages?  I am particularly interested
> to know of examples from outside the Midland, especially from the
> Lower South.
>
> Thanks for any help,
>
> Michael Montgomery
> Department of English
> University of South Carolina
> Columbia SC 29208