I knew someone who grew up in Washington (state) who used to do that, and it always made me think she was a bit slow… even though I knew she wasn’t. Drove me crazy to hear her say it.
I know a guy from Erie, PA who does this. It drives me nuts! He’s the only example I’ve ever encountered. I’ve lived my whole life in southern NJ (Philly area), and went to college in Virginia.
On Whose Line Is It Anyway, Drew Carey always said “Go ahead and start whenever you hear the music.” That always annoyed me, and puzzled me too, because he’s from Cleveland, and that’s not a local usage.
I hear a mix around here (Arizona) and use it as well. While the OP’s examples would come off as incredibly awkward the quoted example would be equally as awkward with just “when.”
Huh, I’m from Cleveland, too, and that one sounds perfectly natural to me. The OP’s examples, though, don’t. Is it possible there are two different regionalisms in play here?
I once rode in a taxicab whose driver said “everwhen” for “whenever” and “everhow” for “however.” I was sure I’d misheard him the first couple of times, but it continued through a talkative 20-minute ride.
I know a few people who talk like this. Two are from Pennsylvania but pretty far apart, Pittsburgh and Gettysburg. The others are from the Appalachian part of Ohio.
Add my voice to those who find the Drew Carey quote sounds normal, while the examples in the OP sound messed up.
Very prevalent in southern Indiana where I lived for a year and a half when I was younger. Drove me crazy.
I once tagged a new acquaintance — after some conversation, I asked him if he was from southern Indiana (based on “whenever” use). He looked completely shocked and admitted he was from S. Illinois, just across the border from Indiana. He’d worked hard to lose his southern accent, but that gave him away.
It sounds pretty messed up to me too, so much so that when I moved to the South I pointed it out to visiting family members, who also thought it sounded strange.
To be clear, I’m not talking about ‘at a particular, but indefinite time’, as in the Drew Carey quote
Nor do I mean ‘at any such time’, as in “At the supermarket, whenever a truck comes in, everybody pitches in to unload it.”
I’m talking about cases that indicate an unambiguous time, as in “Whenever my Aunt Elaine moved to Arizona, we helped pack her stuff.”