So, can a sentence begin with the word so? Which ones? So is oftentimes used in place of therefore to conclude an explanation, but more people are using it as a general sentence-starter, in the same vein as well. Grant notes that while it may be grating to the ear, it’s not wrong, and it’s more productive not to peeve about it, but instead to record it and add it to the rest of the data we collect about our language. Ultimately, we learn about each other by doing so. This is part of a complete episode.
You must log in to post a comment.
Sundog (episode #1507) 10/15/2018: A clever pun can make the difference between a so-so phrase and a memorable one. The phrase "the last straw" refers to an old fable... [more]
Oh, For Cute! (episode #1506) 10/08/2018: A stereotype is a preconceived notion about a person or group. Originally, though, the word stereotype referred to a printing device used to produce lots... [more]
Coinkydink (episode #1505) 10/01/2018: Sometimes it's a challenge to give a book a chance: How many pages should you read before deciding it's not worth your time? There's a... [more]
Sweet Dreams (episode #1450) 09/22/2018: In deafening workplaces, like sawmills and factories, workers develop their own elaborate sign language to discuss everything from how their weekend went to when the... [more]
Gangbusters (episode #1448) 09/15/2018: Sensuous words and terms of endearment. Think of a beautiful word. Now, is it simply the word's sound that makes it beautiful? Or does its... [more]
I heard a really good discussion of recent research on Sentence-Initial So on Slate’s Lexicon Valley —- you can listen by going to their website and looking for the podcast “Lexicon Valley Episode No. 7: A Needle Pulling Thread.”
Grant really bugged me with his reply to this one when it first aired. I KNOW there has been an increase, because starting a response with “so” when one does not mean “therefore” irks the heck out of me. He finally admitted that the records were 10 or 15 years (I forget which) out of date, and I thought, “Duh! Right around the time this trend started!”
I get what you’re saying but someone “knowing” something without data backing it up isn’t “knowing.” It’s “feeling” or “believing.”