Jon,
I see by your email address that you may be an American from the U.S. of A,
and p'raps even from the Left Coast. Let me ask you if you shift from
"toward" toward/s "towards" for different sounds or uses. Further, can you
glean from the ODAUS which spellings/pronounciations are used in various
regions throughout U.S.A.?
Yours hounourably and coulourfully,
Judy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Corelis"
Subject: Towards clarity whilst amidst and amongst us
> The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style says that amongst,
> amidst,
> and whilst are considered archaic and therefore pretentious in American
> English but not in British English, and that toward is prevalent in
> American
> English, towards in British. (I think by American they mean USA, not
> Canada.) This more or less accords with my own impression. The forms in
> -st to me would sound definitely odd used by an American. Towards,
> though,
> seems perfectly ordinary American English, though less frequently used
> than
> towards.
>
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