So you are an arrogant asshole with your unfounded opinions.
This seems to me to be a recent phenomenon. The CBC radio program âQuirks and Quarksâ is where I first noticed this trend and in fact they aired a segment on the topic! http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Quirks+and+Quarks/Full+Episodes/2009/ID/1579137398/ It seems that âsoâ is an all-purpose sentence starter â especially for scientists! I should also admit that I picked up ending my sentences with âsoâ in the last few years, which I hate doing but have trouble stopping myself from doing. SoâŚ
Anything that has to do with âprofessional speakingâ is pretty much snake oil, so I wouldnât be surprised if youâre right.
So, say we all.
6 Likes
A rather so-so article then?
so, you reap what you sew!
1 Like
You do hear this all the time on NPR, very often when the anchor of a particular newsmagazine or talk show is interrogating the âexpert of the hourâ about the topic of the moment. It might be a scientific story about, say, the rise in the number of tornadoes in a given season, or what the next Mars mission has in store, or it might be a story about politics or economics or tech issues or circus elephants or whatever, but it does usually seem to surface when the interviewee, who may not be 100% comfortable speaking extemporaneously on the radio, starts to spout off with what sounds for all the world like a rehearsed paragraph intended to get the point across quickly in an NPR-sized bite. It always comes across to me like the speaker isnât actually listening to the interviewer, but just counting off the seconds until the preprogrammed nugget of info is scheduled to be released from his or her lips. As such, it never sounds like an honest answer to an honest question, even though it actually is, albeit one considered and edited and rehearsed beforehand.
Bugs the hell out of me. And like bad kerning in signage, once youâre made aware of it, you can never ignore it again, so I apologize if Iâve ruined NPR listening for anyone else.
5 Likes
I use it all the time. Mostly without noticing. I know what it means though, exactly. It means, "I suck at conversation and other people scare the hell out of me. I donât have any idea how to respond or begin because my head is spinning with anxiety and I am asking you to just give me a one-half-second break so I can wedge myself uncomfortably into the conversation. So, . . . "
3 Likes
In the words of the Great Philosopher, Bill Maher: âReally?â
So? I care not. 
I stopped reading at âConsultant.â Dude probably got paid a lot of money to spout something totally anecdotal. Buuuuuuulllshit. Not surprised that Mark bought it, though.
1 Like
So, Iâve noticed that a lot of American Jews who have spent time in religious school as kids or been involved in Talmud classes as adults pick up the âSoâ at the beginning of phrases. Itâs not, in this case, a sign of a practiced spiel so much as a sign that the speaker is gathering together a number of puzzle pieces of an idea and trying to quickly decide how to best communicate the point to the audience. Iâve noticed the same thing among religious Israelis when they speak English.
As for the notion that this marker undermines the credibility of the speaker, I am surprised and now quite concerned as I use âSoâ pretty consistently, especially when starting a story or explaining a complex topic.
1 Like
This made me think of all the schools which have rules about hairstyles that just so happen to not work well for African-American students.
Just because a majority is used to one norm doesnât mean itâs the same for everyone.
Edit: because schools are not sentient beings so they should not be referred to as âwhoâ. Unlike U.S. corporations, apparently.
3 Likes
As does the army.
http://www.insightnews.com/commentary/12124-how-the-army-ostracized-me-for-my-own-hair
2 Likes
IIRC, the gist was that âsoâ has replaced âwellâ as the superfluous sentence starter>
not exactly the same but ⌠http://reconcilosophy.blogspot.com/2012/01/so-since-i-went-to-caltech.html?m=1
Exactly right. This isnât about any old so, but only those which begin responses to questions.
I canât stand when my coworker starts sentences with, âSoâŚâ Everyone else I work with seems to think this is some sort of prequel to a genius-level diatribe but I find it incredibly freaking annoying.
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
