To think some words don't belong in informal conversation

[Thrif]

There are certain words that, whilst technically correct, make a person sound completely up themselves when used out loud.

Whom is the worst. Whilst is another

I do not concur with your sentiment.

Well, it depends to whom you are speaking, surely.

An informal conversation should not have to be grammatically incorrect. mAbE we shud aL jst TLK n txt spk!

Whence and Thus

Thus, maybe it sounds a bit pretentious. But I don't agree at all with not using whom and whilst. It's just about being grammatically correct. Might just as well say you shouldn't say "you are" but "you is"

Er you have used whilst in first sentence then said using it makes the user sound completely up themselves.

As they say on social media #justsaying

I don't understand when to use whom, so I never do.

Can anyone explain the rule please?

Context is everything here: who you are, your audience etc. When I first read the OP I thought that I'd always use "to whom", for example, but on reflection if I were speaking very casually, I'd say "who were you speaking to". I don't think that "whilst" is a specially poncey word, I'd certainly use it in normal casual conversation.

What really irritates me are the faux posh/ fancy words that are totally unnecessary - eg most uses of "myself", "please refrain from" instead of "don't", use of the passive voice where it's not needed or is in fact confusing.

Here endeth the lesson.

DS2 has AS. He regularly uses "whilst" and "hence" in everyday conversation. He also numbers his points as he makes them: "Firstly..."
He isn't trying to sound superior, it's just that he speaks the way he thinks.

Can anyone explain the rule please?
I think you can use it when the "who" is in the genitive, dative or ablative case:
of whom
to whom, for whom
by whom, with whom, from whom

As a rough guide, it's who for the subject of a sentence, and whom for the object or indirect object. This obviously depends on you being able to identify whether something is subject or object. There is debate over its use, and I doubt anyone would worry or in most cases even notice whether you use who when strictly it should be whom, so I wouldn't worry about it. There are guides online if you google.

I use whom, whilst, thus, and occasionally hence, whence and thence, and if people think I sound up myself, that's their problem, not mine.

cartoon

What really irritates me are the faux posh/ fancy words that are totally unnecessary - eg most uses of "myself", "please refrain from" instead of "don't", use of the passive voice where it's not needed or is in fact confusing.

Yes, this. Especially where uses of "myself" are wrong.

Just thought of another one, on the same theme as "whom" and probably committed for the same reasons: using "and I" when it should be "and me". My colleague does this all the time - "please send your reply to Tiger and I".

I agree, Tiger, about "to Tiger and I ". This crops up often on here. I think it is an attempt to sound 'genteel' whereas it just makes the poster appear a pillock.

I disagree that 'whom' is categorically out of place in normal conversation. It depends entirely who you are talking to. I do agree though that conversations take place in different registers (ie different 'tones') that come with their own linguistic markers and unwritten rules. Knowingly violating the normal linguistic register is a slightly twatty thing to do, especially if the intention is to make the other person feel inferior.

The reverse is also true though: if you use a markedly informal register where a formal one would be appropriate that marks you out as either ignorant, over-familiar or actively hostile.

The error in both cases is poor sensitivity to tone of voice.

I always get confused with the 'and I' thing. Aren't you supposed to put yourself last and use I? I thought 'and me' was incorrect even if you do sound like a pillock\the Queen saying 'my husband and I'.

Ergo. That doesn't really belong in an informal chat.

But, to my mind, none of these are as annoying as "methinks", or "doth"

-grinds teeth-

It's not that you put yourself last, you should test the sentence without the other person in it. So if you want to say 'Send the brochures to Bob and me' you should try removing Bob and see if it sounds odd or not. If you wouldn't say 'Send the brochures to I' then don't say 'Send the brochures to Bob and I'. Likewise 'Bob and I went to the shops'. Without Bob, the sentence still works: 'I went to the shops'. 'Me went to the shops', not so much.

at the OP using 'whilst' whilst complaining about 'whilst'.

No monsters, you use "and I" where if it was just you you'd use "I", and "and me" where if it was just you you'd use "me". If that makes sense?

X post with manatee

I think op was being ironic about the whilst thing.