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I have recently noticed that some people nowadays are using the word "so" at the start of a sentence.

For example - there is currently a question on the Law site which begins:

So I live in Germany, and there is a restaurant about 10 minutes away from my house. I often order from there but now much less.

"So" to my own native ear is a conjunction which links a statement or thought to something which it succeeds e.g. "It was dark so I turned on the light". It can usually be replaced with something like "and for that reason"

Has this more introductory "so" become an idiomatic feature e.g. in America. I've not seen it used nearly as often in Britain.

WS2
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  • Some say that using filler words is just a bad habit that even royalty can have. – fev Nov 11 '22 at 07:33
  • I have certainly noticed it as an annoying habit in Britain. – Kate Bunting Nov 11 '22 at 08:36
  • So, I was just noticing the other day that I have started to do this in my own conversation. I'm trying to work out if its more, or less, annoying than using 'you know?' as a filler mid sentence – Andy M Nov 11 '22 at 09:38
  • It's uncontroversial to start a sentence with "so" meaning "therefore" or "as a result"; it is common in the NIV and other modern Bible translations ("So Esau went to Ishmael...", NKJV). Is this question about starting speaking/writing with "so" rather than using it to link sentences? – Stuart F Nov 11 '22 at 09:39
  • @Stuart F The 17C AV (Genesis 28:9) has it as Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and... The NIV version would suggest that the action follows from v8, which I'm not sure that the James I version does. Anyway I'm no bible scholar - so it's difficult to comment on that one. – WS2 Nov 11 '22 at 11:25
  • @AndyM "you know" and "you see" do seem to have a function, which is semantically sound - though heavily over-used. But starting with "so" seems a bit like starting with "and" or "but" where nothing has gone before. – WS2 Nov 11 '22 at 11:28
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    I'm sure there is a duplicate, addressing 'So' as a semantically bleached (and thus here non-sequiturial) sentence connector, a mere attention-focusing device. Of course, that's not the whole story, as there's a residue of 'Right, now let me reply to what you've just said ...' (or even a tenuous 'So, going on to a new question ...') in many cases. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 11 '22 at 13:01
  • @EdwinAshworth I think that "Right!" and "So, going on to..." are slightly different. They are exclamatory starters - words which are there to alert the listener to what is coming next". The example of "So" in my question would appear to have no such purpose. – WS2 Nov 11 '22 at 14:10
  • Anecdotally, "so" seems to be displacing "well" as an introductory filler like this - I haven't done any research to quantify that, though. That's in Britain. – Toby Speight Nov 11 '22 at 16:11
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    So, like I think it’s alright like, you know. – David Nov 11 '22 at 18:35
  • Does this answer your question? Sentences beginning with "so"? The various flavours of pragmatic marker 'so' may be considered to overlap with are discussed in @Jon Purdy's answer. He admits to little finding of resources covering usage extensively / geographically. See also When did the word 'so' begin to be used to start a sentence? – Edwin Ashworth Nov 11 '22 at 20:11
  • The language is changing, and many discussions are begun with a so that doesn't reach back to a previous topic. And it may not indicate a new topic either -- it's just a breath-taking before starting a new sentence, on whatever topic the speaker is following. – John Lawler Nov 11 '22 at 20:31
  • @JohnLawler But in the example I gave in the question the user simply introduces a new question to Stack Exchange, Law site - which had not been previously discussed - with the word "So". There is no breath taking. It is entirely new. That really does seem like a radicallt new introduction, of an already heavily worked two-letter word. – WS2 Nov 11 '22 at 22:46

1 Answers1

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so

9. ADVERB You can use so in conversations to introduce a new topic, or to introduce a question or comment about something that has been said.

  • So how was your day?
  • So you're a runner, huh?
  • So as for your question, Miles, the answer still has to be no.

etc.

Isn't this what you're talking about?

I'm no native. Whatever alleged proficiency in English I have gained through institutional studies has subsequently been refined thanks to the worldwide accessibility of British and American art: i.e. music and cinema, above all (along with some litterature, though not that much).

Even though I don't really get the chance to socialize with natives, I don't find this usage of "so" the least bit surprising. I feel that I've come across it countless times ever since my teens (I'm 38 today).

Just for the sake of providing an example, here's two of the earliest encounters I can recall:

Point being, I guess, music's popularizing effect on linguistic oddities should not be overlooked.

With all due respect, I'd actually be quite surprised if a native speaker found this usage to be surprising. After all, how surprising can it be when it's even included in dictionaries?

Perhaps it's a "linguist's overanalysis", which I'm afraid would be a bit out of reach for my own comprehension of English.

Respectfully.

m.a.a.
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    I don't think this is what the OP is talking about. I find your examples perfectly natural, but I find "So" prefixing a statement or narrative odd and annoying. – Kate Bunting Nov 11 '22 at 17:41
  • (9a) '.so ADVERB You can use so in conversations to introduce a new topic' certainly addresses the acceptability of the usage. As to 'degrees of acceptability in the UK / US': I'm surprised to see the new usage even mentioned beyond Wikipedia. Good spot. But an article on differential idiomaticity would be a real find. – Edwin Ashworth Nov 11 '22 at 19:01
  • ADVERB You can use so* in conversations to introduce a new topic, or to introduce a question or comment about something that has been said.* The important words here are the last six - "about something that has been said". But in my example absolutely nothing had been said. An entirely new topic is introduced with the word "So". And it is that that appears to be annoying @Kate Bunting and me. – WS2 Nov 11 '22 at 22:36
  • @WS2 That's one of two scenarios presented by Collins: (a) new topic, (b) question/comment about sth previously mentioned. – m.a.a. Nov 11 '22 at 22:51