In an earlier post (“Discourse-Introductory so in Geek,” January 16, 2011), the increasing presence of the particle so at the beginning of discourses was analyzed and its presence ascribed to the jargon of geeks and to Yiddish. Since then, however, it has become evident––at least in contemporary American English––that so is not limited to the beginning of discourses but actually has spread to a much more frequent status as the initiator of utterances regardless of their position in discourse. Moreover, when so occurs at the beginning of discourses it serves as a linking particle not only to preceding utterances but even to linguistically yet unexpressed material that has formed in the speaker’s mind as content that is relevant to the conversational context.
Beyond this linking function, for some speakers so has evidently become a verbal tic, to the point where such speakers cannot initiate almost any utterance––particularly at the beginning of a discourse, but not only––without prefixing so. This ticastic so is especially prevalent among young female speakers but is becoming increasingly characteristic of their male counterparts as well––and not just of geeks. Without rising (yet?) to the frequency of ticastic like, this trait has even become a habitual feature of the speech of some pre-teenagers and is growing apace.
MICHAEL SHAPIRO
I like the adjective “ticastic”!
In recent years, though, i’ve noticed more often the use of “so” at the END of an utterance such as a narrative or explanation, like “so …” (i.e. pronounced with an intonation implying an absence of finality), as if the speaker were implying something like “There’s more i could say in this context, but i leave it to you to complete the thought, as the rest follows naturally from what i’ve said so far.” Often the speaker seems to be offering the utterance as an explanation for some action or opinion of which he assumes that the interpreter is already aware. I’ve especially noticed this in CBC radio news interviews with various people, so it may be a Canadian habit, but i think i’ve heard it from Americans too.
I wonder if you have an adjective that would suit that, Michael?
Thanks for your comment. This is the first I hear of “so” at the end of a connected series of utterances. Yes, it definitely sounds like a Canadianism. I’ve never heard it from an American. I’m glad you like “ticastic,” which I’m proud to have coined (and hope will make it into the OED). Sorry: no, I don’t have an adjective for your Canadianism.