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As a midwestern American (Iowa), I want to understand the history, reason, and mechanics of why southern Americans say "whenever" when the word "when" would suffice.

For instance:

An Iowan (and the rest of the West and Midwest, probably) would say:

"When I was a child I loved candy."

But, someone from Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina are more likely to say:

"Whenever I was a child I loved candy."

Where I grew up we were taught that "whenever" is used to describe an unknown when, either in the present or past. The other situation where whenever was appropriate is when discussing a "when" that occurred multiple times.

Ex 1: (past repeated)

"Whenever he decided he wanted to dress like a girl, he would put on his pink tutu and just dance the day away."

In this tense, whenever indicates that something was repeatedly done but specific dates and times aren't being offered. This is a generic, summary "when".

Ex 2: (future unknown non-repeat)

Jim: Hey, what time are you leaving today?

Bill: It depends.

Jim: Well, whenever you decide to go, can you pick us up some milk up from the store before you come back?

In my understanding, both of these two examples would be considered correct usage of "whenever".

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    Your question’s title singles out Christians, but I don’t see any justification in the question’s text that faith has any bearing on this particular turn of phrase. Are you saying that others in the American deep south - atheists, for example - speak differently?
    – Lawrence
    Commented Mar 21, 2021 at 16:13
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    @Lawrence I would think that people who believe in the Cycle of Karma and Rebirth would be more likely than Christians to say "whenever I was a child".
    – BoldBen
    Commented Mar 21, 2021 at 20:27
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    @Lawrence Not at all. I can't say for certain if Muslims, or Hindus, or Satanists in the South use this terminology. The question is from the vantage point of someone has first-hand experience hearing it in Christian churches in the deep south. I suspect it is a colloquialism that started in the Northeastern churches in the 1800s around the time of the "2nd Great Awakening", and that became common usage by the 1960s throughout the deep south. But that's just conjecture on my part.
    – Eric Hepperle - CodeSlayer2010
    Commented Mar 27, 2021 at 12:43
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    This article from Grammarphobia describes the phenomenon, but I'm not sure if anyone knows its history.
    – alphabet
    Commented Sep 4, 2023 at 22:53
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    I think we just draw the line differently than northerners. Southerners have a higher expectation of aspectual content in their communication, and what we consider non-specific aspectual references are significantly different than in Standard English. Southerners can use whenever to opt-out of supplying the level of detail Southerners expect- a level that is not expected in SE.
    – Phil Sweet
    Commented Nov 19 at 12:10

1 Answer 1

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Harold Wentworth, American Dialect Dictionary (1944) notes the phenomenon of using "whenever" to mean simply "when" (that is, "at the time that") in two regions of the United States—West Virginia and the Ozark region of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas—with instances cited from 1917 through 1943:

whenever, adv., conj. When, at the time that;—used in declarative sentences. Cf. everwhen [identified elsewhere in the dictionary as meaning "whenever" in the Ozarks area].

Among the examples Wentworth cites are this one from the Ozarks (in 1926):

'Whenever I was a gal, folks kep' ther' clo'es on, an' the men-folks allus wore the britches.'

and this one from West Virginia (in 1942):

'Whenever the teacher took up [Shakespeate's plays...]' = at the time that..

and this one from northwestern West Virginia (in 1943):

'My growth was stunted whenever I was small.' Boy age 10. Repeated.

If you're wondering how people express the idea of "whenever" in regions where the word whenever commonly means "when," you may find Wentworth's entry for "ever and when" interesting:

ever and when. Whenever, everywhen. 1933 s.w.Mo.—n.w.Ark. I'll go t' work ever an' when I git good an' ready.

It is tempting to suppose that "ever and when" (or "everywhen") might form a natural pair with "whenever" in any region where people commonly use "whenever" to mean "when," but that doesn't match my experience. As a child in southeast Texas, I occasionally encountered kids who used "whenever" in place of "when"—but I don't remember ever hearing anyone use "ever and when" or "everywhen" to mean "whenever."

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