While we were sleeping ...

While we were sleeping ...

Good writers and editors use sources such as The Associated Press Stylebook and the dictionary to try to be as accurate as possible. But even with such trustworthy sources, we have no guarantees.

Such sources are fine but hardly perfect, in other words. The AP Stylebook is riddled with inconsistencies (just try to memorize which words ending in -up they think should be hyphenated and which words should not; there is absolutely no logic behind the choices, such as makeup without a hyphen and mix-up with one). The dictionary lists more than one way to spell hundreds of words (such as traveled and travelled both accepted), which to me    totally defeats the purpose of consulting a dictionary as the final source in settling a question.
 
More madness: AP insists that Realtor even by itself should be capitalized simply because a Realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors. Big deal. A U.S. senator belongs to the U.S. Senate, another proper name, yet we don't apply the same standard and uppercase it as Senator all the time, or congressmen as a member of another proper noun, Congress.

AP also insists we capitalize Mass for religious services, a tremendously puzzling use of capital letters for a totally generic description of a    common event.


And it lists such idiotic items as gunbattle, one word, yet insists that air bag, good will (for most uses), drug lord (yet warlord is one word) and field house -- all much more logical as one word than gunbattle -- should be two words.

And so it goes.

The dictionary at times also is not specific enough when it comes to usage that newspapers adapt for certain words.

You are perfectly free to disagree, but I believe the dictionary errs in such a case as the definition of while. It should not be considered proper to use it interchangeably with although, even though the Merriam-Webster online dictionary lists this as one meaning of while:

a : when on the other hand : whereas <easy for an expert, while it is dangerous for a novice>

b : in spite of the fact that : although <while respected, he is not liked> 

While should be limited to suggest a   time period, such as something simultaneous, as its other definitions indicate:

1

: a period of time especially when short and marked by the occurrence of an action or a condition : time <stay here for a while>

2

: the time and effort used (as in the performance of an action) : trouble <worth your while>

a : during the time that <take a nap while I'm out>

b : as long as <while there's life there's hope>

3

: similarly and at the same time that <while the book will be welcomed by scholars, it will make an immediate appeal to the general reader — British Book News>

At the very least, all should agree that while is misused far too frequently in constructions such as the following. What the writer really should use is and, not while, because the events obviously did NOT take place simultaneously, the only definition of while that possibly could be used here. There's no valid to reason to use while:

1) Brook Robinson had four hits, while Frank   Robinson had two hits and walked twice.

That sentence, a very common construction in sports stories, means Frank registered his hits/walks WHILE Brooks did, as in at the same time, an impossibility given only one batter is up at a time. Simply replace while with and and the sentence is remedied.

2) Second baseman Daniel Murphy lost one fly ball in the second inning, while right fielder Marlon Byrd lost two in the doomed fifth.

Again, the correct word here is and, not while, unless you believe in two innings taking place at the same time.

While is -- even if you accept the dictionary's notion that it is acceptable to use it as a synonym for although -- used far too often in stories and has become an exceedingly weak crutch and phony transition in stories. I've seen stories in which 7-10 sentences all begin with "While ...." 


Wow. Good writers know to put some variety in their stories and not pepper paragraph after paragraph with the same tired constructions.

So, at the very least, I present this simple question: What in the world is wrong with using although in the first place? Writers/editors seem so ridiculously beholden to while that they use it almost exclusively in situations where they claim it properly subs for although.

Although is the better word to use no matter what, in my view. Save while for time references -- it may take a while, do it while the sun is still out, I'll search in the back while you search in the front, etc. -- and stop accepting it as the identical twin sister of although. 

It's not.

One more time worth repeating: Even if you disagree with me about the definition of while, at least recognize that it's never wrong to use although INSTEAD of while in situations involving a contrary notion (such as despite or on the other hand). How did while not only become accepted as the twin to although but somehow supplant it as the preferred word in such situations?

Don't believe me? Pick up a copy of any daily newspaper    and I am 

certain you'll find many stories that are riddled with sentences that begin with while. It has reached epidemic levels.

It's time to stop the avalanche and at the very least restore the balance with although.

Although you may disagree, the construction I am using here provides the best way to write such a sentence. Here is the definition of this much-maligned word:

al·though
conjunction \ȯl-ˈthō\

Definition of ALTHOUGH

: in spite of the fact that : even though

Examples of ALTHOUGH

1. <although I've been to his house several times, I still can't remember how to get there>

It's time to wrap it up. My next post will feature reflections -- including a few from some experts -- on why correct spelling is so important and does indeed matter greatly in nearly all correspondence (Twitter gets a pass, but only a partial one). Stay tuned ...