22 Sep So…

Posted at 17:28h in That's life, Words by

Contrarian reader John Hugh Edwards has noticed a linguistic quirk of recent origin:

For some time I’ve been meaning to mention how people being interviewed begin answers with, “So…”  As in:

Q:  Am I right to say the market has stabilized over the past several months, relative to the volatility it experienced since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008?

A:  So, if we examine the graphic in today’s NYT we can see that since the low point in March…..

I am hearing the “so” more and more.  Is it a particular strategy?  If so, what is the rationale? Great graphic by the way.  Way to go Contrarian.

Contrarian first noticed this trend on the CBC Radio show Quirks and Quarks. It was so glaring, I mentioned it in an email to executive producer Jim Handman, who replied:

The question of why so many of our guests begin every sentence with “so,” is a baffling one. It first came to our attention about 2 years ago, and since then, dozens of listeners have written to point it out. It is definitely an American thing – but other than that, I can’t notice any pattern. It is very irritating with many of the guests, and I’m sure they don’t realise they’re doing it. Might be an interesting research project for a young PhD.

Almost a year later, on March 7, 2009, Quirks and Quarks put the question of the strange “so” tic to Maite Taboada, associate professor of linguistics at Simon Fraser University, and received the following less-than-definitive answer: