Some translators are in the habit of listing all the seminars they have attended since the year dot.
A recent example got me thinking, and made me realise that, over the years, I've attended a good few events - some of them rather informative.
Here is a selection:
SFT/ASTTI Financial Translation Summer Schools (Paris/Spiez): 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015
German Annual Report Masterclass (Robin Bonthrone) - October 2013
Die Welt der Banken und Ihre Sprache - April 2015
8 June 2015
"While" versus "whilst"
There is a definite tendency today to simply use (he says, voluntarily splitting an infinitive!) "while".
A decent summary of the issue is available here:
http://www.richardhollins.com/blog/grammar-tips-while-or-whilst/
However, I was composing a pretty ordinary sentence the other day, and "whilst" seemed a better fit to me:
He will also oversee Acme Corporation's differentiation strategy in terms of its products and services whilst optimising design and construction costs.
(I was having to deal with another one of those long lists in French: "he does a, b, c, d, e, f...". I don't usually allow more than three items in any such list without adding some kind of conjunction.)
Here is the same sentence with "while":
He will also oversee Acme Corporation's differentiation strategy in terms of its products and services while optimising design and construction costs.
To me, the "while" sounds like he's doing everything at the same time; imagine him spinning plates.
It's almost like "whilst" has a sense of "as well as" in this example.
Of course, the EMT editor at the client may have simply edited out the "whilst" for the more internationally acceptable "while".
To be continued...
A decent summary of the issue is available here:
http://www.richardhollins.com/blog/grammar-tips-while-or-whilst/
However, I was composing a pretty ordinary sentence the other day, and "whilst" seemed a better fit to me:
He will also oversee Acme Corporation's differentiation strategy in terms of its products and services whilst optimising design and construction costs.
(I was having to deal with another one of those long lists in French: "he does a, b, c, d, e, f...". I don't usually allow more than three items in any such list without adding some kind of conjunction.)
Here is the same sentence with "while":
He will also oversee Acme Corporation's differentiation strategy in terms of its products and services while optimising design and construction costs.
To me, the "while" sounds like he's doing everything at the same time; imagine him spinning plates.
It's almost like "whilst" has a sense of "as well as" in this example.
Of course, the EMT editor at the client may have simply edited out the "whilst" for the more internationally acceptable "while".
To be continued...
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