| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > |
So when will people stop beginning every statement with "so"? Thread poster: Tom in London
|
|---|
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:38
Member (2008)
Italian to English
So I've only noticed this lately, and it seems to be getting worse.
| | | |
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 03:38
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Eye/ear of the beholder | Sep 5, 2013 |
I perceive this kind of thing as merely another example of phatic communication, intended to indicate some sort of continuity (real or not) and not worth getting my knickers in a twist about. I get more upset about current obsessions like"twerking" and the Oxford online dictionary's eagerness to accept similar dodgy, fly-by-night terms as worthy of our attention.
[Edited at 2013-09-05 10:53 GMT]
| | | |
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:38
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
neilmac wrote:
I perceive this kind of thing as merely another example of phatic communication, intended to indicate some sort of continuity (real or not) and not worth getting my knickers in a twist about.
So it may pass? So the way people used to say everything as though it were a question? So that went on for a long time? So it seems to be dying out now? So I just need to be patient?
| | | |
| Erm... when they start using something else | Sep 5, 2013 |
It seems to be a bad habit taken over from spoken language.
It's nothing new, but it may be more or less widespread/ fashionable in different layers of society.
"So vere's this geezer, goes inner a pub, dun 'e ...
So 'e ses ter ver bartender..."
... Add your own joke, mine are probably not funny 
The exact equivalent in Danish is 'jamen' - = yes, but...
A silly... See more It seems to be a bad habit taken over from spoken language.
It's nothing new, but it may be more or less widespread/ fashionable in different layers of society.
"So vere's this geezer, goes inner a pub, dun 'e ...
So 'e ses ter ver bartender..."
... Add your own joke, mine are probably not funny
The exact equivalent in Danish is 'jamen' - = yes, but...
A silly way to start every sentence, but you will rarely find a politician or economist who doesn't do it frenquently, and almost anyone fluent in Danish is probably guilty of it now and then.
The 'so' thing sounds very familiar to me from my distant youth, so (sorry!) don't hold your breath while waiting for it to pass! ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
| |
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:38
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Christine Andersen wrote: ... Add your own joke, mine are probably not funny
An Irishman, a Welshman, and a Scotsman go into a bar.
The barman says "What is this- a joke?"
| | | |
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:38
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks John- that's excellent !
| | | |
| When they get tired of it | Sep 5, 2013 |
They may stop it when they get tired of it.
| | |
|
|
|
Lingua 5B 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 03:38
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| They use it because it comes natural to them that way | Sep 5, 2013 |
For the same reason they use "like", "right", or any other filler.
Our equivalent is "pa", a very frequent filler and it certainly does have a function when it comes to tone of voice. Just adds to a colloquial, informal and idiomatic tone (nonnative speakers will probably not use it or at least not as much).
Does the OP think we should all speak in the same manner or does he imply we already do? "People" is a collective noun?
[Edited at 2013-09-05 ... See more For the same reason they use "like", "right", or any other filler.
Our equivalent is "pa", a very frequent filler and it certainly does have a function when it comes to tone of voice. Just adds to a colloquial, informal and idiomatic tone (nonnative speakers will probably not use it or at least not as much).
Does the OP think we should all speak in the same manner or does he imply we already do? "People" is a collective noun?
[Edited at 2013-09-05 12:10 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | |
| Using 'so' to manage conversations... | Sep 5, 2013 |
Must be a hot topic, as I just today stumbled upon this article via Thesaurus.com while looking something else up. Interesting little analysis of why the 'initial so' is used in speech.
http://hotword.dictionary.com/sentence-initial-so/
There's also another article featuring today about the 'dangling so' which appears at the end of sentences. The link is in the... See more Must be a hot topic, as I just today stumbled upon this article via Thesaurus.com while looking something else up. Interesting little analysis of why the 'initial so' is used in speech.
http://hotword.dictionary.com/sentence-initial-so/
There's also another article featuring today about the 'dangling so' which appears at the end of sentences. The link is in the article above.
So, there we go. ▲ Collapse
| | | |
| I get more irritated when people end a sentence with "so" | Sep 5, 2013 |
(So) I see what you mean but I used to have a colleague who ended his sentences with "so" all the time which was highly irritating.
He'd say, "well I have 3 years' experience so..." or "this isn't on my schedule for today so...." or "I didn't say that, so..." and then just trail off into nothing. Grrr
| | | |
So what?
An interesting question.
| | |
|
|
|
| Oh come on :P | Sep 5, 2013 |
Tom in London wrote:
So I've only noticed this lately, and it seems to be getting worse.
| | | |
John Fossey
Canada
Local time: 21:38
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
So when Generation Z reaches their late teens they will say "so" is sooo last decade and it will be something else.
| | | |
Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:38
German to English
+ ...
I quite like it, and find it amusing. I do just see it as another way of saying, "Right then, ..." or "Now, ..." I am though thoroughly familiar with the German tendency to start sentences in this way, and I do tend to adopt a German accent (internally sometimes!) when using the formulation myself.
| | | |
| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > |
Login to reply/comment 
