{"id":43337,"date":"2015-09-23T00:10:06","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T07:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/?p=43337"},"modified":"2015-09-23T04:11:02","modified_gmt":"2015-09-23T11:11:02","slug":"start-introducing-sentences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.todayifoundout.com\/index.php\/2015\/09\/start-introducing-sentences\/","title":{"rendered":"So, When Did We Start Introducing Sentences with So?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Alli G. asks: Why do people today always start sentences with so?<\/div>\n

\"english\"<\/a>The word so<\/em> has been in English pretty much as long as there has been English (derived from the Old English sw\u00e6). It is alternately an adverb (it’s so<\/em> hot), a conjunction (eat your dinner so <\/em>you can have dessert), an adjective (Jim is dead, isn’t that so<\/em>?) and an introductory particle (So, <\/em>I heard gun shots last night).<\/p>\n

For many, the ubiquity of so<\/em> just to introduce a topic or idea in modern parlance (So, what are we doing?) is troubling and often thought to be a recent addition to the language; however, English speakers have actually been using so<\/em> to open a sentence since at least the Middle Ages.<\/p>\n

For instance, Chaucer (1343-1400) used so<\/em> as an introductory particle in his poem Troilus and Criseyde<\/em>:<\/p>\n

So graunte hem sone out of this world to pace <\/em>(So, grant him soon out of this world to pass);<\/p>\n

So whan this Calkas knew by calculinge <\/em>(So, when this Calkas knew by astrological calculation); and<\/p>\n

So hyd it wel, I tell it never to mo <\/em>(So, hide it well, I tell it never to others)<\/p>\n

Shakespeare (1564-1616) also introduced sentences with a so<\/em>. In the poem, The Rape of Lucrece<\/em>, he wrote:<\/p>\n

So guiltless she securely gives good cheer;<\/em><\/p>\n

So that in venturing ill we leave to be;<\/em><\/p>\n

So from himself impiety hath wrought<\/em>;<\/p>\n

So thy surviving husband shall remain;<\/em><\/p>\n

So shall these slaves be king, and though their slave; <\/em>and<\/p>\n

So let thy thoughts, low vassals to thy state’.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the 18th century, Samuel Richardson (1689-1761), also used so<\/em> in this way in the novel, Pamela<\/em>:<\/p>\n

So, like a fool, I was ready to cry;<\/em><\/p>\n

So, with our blessings, and assured prayers for you, more than ourselves, we remain;<\/em><\/p>\n

So, dear father and mother, it is not disobedience; <\/em>and<\/p>\n

So, taunting again!<\/em><\/p>\n

As did Richard Brinsley Sherida (1751-1816) in his comedy of manners The Rivals<\/em>:<\/p>\n

So, so! \u2013 What, this is some freak, I warrant!<\/em><\/p>\n

So, come to me presently, and I’ll give you another letter to Sir Lucius;<\/em><\/p>\n

So, my dear Simplicity, let me give you a little respite;<\/em><\/p>\n

So, so \u2013 here he comes; <\/em>and<\/p>\n

So, that’s done \u2013 Well, I’ll fold it up presently.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the so <\/em>haters do have a point that it is used much more ubiquitously in recent years. As for why, that’s up for debate, with the commonly touted theory putting the blame on Silicon Valley lingo.<\/p>\n

This was first noted by Michael Lewis in The New New Thing<\/em><\/a> (1999)- “When a computer programmer answers a question, he often begins with the word \u2018so\u2019.” As to how this came about, it is thought that given the international composition of the typical Silicon Valley work site, where a large number did not speak English as their first language, it became the simple “catchall” word of transition. Over time and frequent usage, it eventually became like a tic and just part of the common speech pattern of those in that industry and then spreading beyond.<\/p>\n

A far better starter than um <\/em>or well<\/em>, both of which convey uncertainty, so <\/em>connotes authority, as well as something being thought through. In the same vein, when it is used to answer a question rather than raise a point, inserting a so<\/em> buys time \u2013 either to formulate a response or ignore the question and return to another topic.<\/p>\n

In addition, communications professor Galina Bolden of Rutgers University notes that beginning sentences with so<\/em>, “communicates that the speaker is interested in or concerned about the recipient… It also invokes prior conversations between the speaker and the recipient, drawing on their relationship history.”<\/p>\n

So, given its utility and specious appearance of authority, as well as sometimes helping to avoid awkward silence while you think, it is no wonder so <\/em>has become so popular. Of course, as with all lingual conventions, it can be (and often is) overused. But as using so<\/em> in this way has been with us since pretty much the beginning of the language and seemingly just keeps increasing in popularity, the so<\/em> haters might just have to hunker down and endure while the present wave passes.<\/p>\n

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, Google Play Music<\/a>, Feed<\/a>), as well as:<\/p>\n