To wonder why people start sentences with So! When there is no reason to?

[Rjae]

Interview. So Mr x, why is the band base rate increasing?

Reply. So. (Pause). It's to do with the stability in the economy ......


There is no reason to use so! It's the latest 'y'know' verbal mannerism.

Stop it, it's annoying!

[justabigdisco]

Whenever they interview a cricketer they always start with 'look' or 'listen' which really annoys me. Every single one!

[broomy123]

Starting with look is very Australian! I can see why you would say so if you were changing a subject as a bit of a warning type thing but not in the interview scenario!

[MyballsareSandy]

I've recently realised i do this when I'm struggling to think of something to say. Never with close friends or family, but colleagues and new people.

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

Yabu. I like it. It seems very modern.

[Cynara]

I've noticed it a lot in OP posts in threads. It annoys me so much that when I see a thread beginning "So..." I just stop reading and go back to the board.

[BlackeyedSusan]

so what?

[Trufflethewuffle]

So at the beginning isn't as bad as the trailing so at the end, so...

[ewanhoozami]

I find it really PA

[MiddleAgeMiddleEngland]

It really annoys me, in the same way as people saying "like" about a dozen times in any sentence. It's often when answering a question, I think.

"Are you going on holiday this year?" "So, we're going to Devon."

"How has your house move gone?" "So, we've nearly unpacked now."

[MyGastIsFlabbered]

I do this all the time, no idea why

[FuzzyWizard]

In formula one every interview response starts with "for sure"... I thought it was a recent thing but was saw an Ayrton Senna interview recently and he was doing it 20 odd years ago!
I don't mind a sentence starting with "so" or "right" as long as it's not the same bloody thing every time.

[ShotgunNotDoingThePans]

I think it started as an American thing, didn't it? It seems to fit in with the verbal style anyway.
Can be a bit self-aggrandising I think.

[Rubbishfeminist]

I hate this so much.

I also hate the ridiculously unnecessary use of the word 'like'. I watched this video yesterday: www.buzzfeed.com/chloezak/americans-try-extremely-british-snacks#.uuZwr4NZe and the guy in the green T-shirt just made me want to, like, poke my own eardrums until they bled.

I also hate it when people talk about something being 'a thing'. Example:
Me: I shat myself at work today
Cunt: Oh, like, is that a thing now?

I also hate it when people say 'I can't even'. What, you can't even what? Dick.

Basically, I hate everything and everyone on Buzzfeed.

[gunnsgirl]

As an audio transcriber, I've noticed the use of so at the beginning and at end of phrases creeping in. I'm allowed to edit it out of some documents, whereas the pure verbatim scripts I'm not and that together with the use of like, kind of etc is beginning to drive me mad.

Totally unnecessary.

INT: Did you find your way here easily today?

RES: So, yes I did actually.


Grrrrr....

[FarFromAnyRoad]

Me: I shat myself at work today
Cunt: Oh, like, is that a thing now?


So this made me, like, piss myself laughing!

[Charley50]

I listen to radio 4 a lot and they do it all the time on there, but especially on science-y kind of discussions. I can't bear it and so glad I'm not alone in this.
I've noticed that 'absolutely' has had its heyday though.

[Pumpkinette]

I will sometimes use it at the beginning of a question but never just a random sentence.

''So what time is the train leaving again?'' - works fine

''So time to leave for school'' - doesn't work.

It's also helpful when changing the subject in a conversation.

[Rjae]

I've also noticed it a lot on radio 4 scientific items

Like is also infuriating and unnecessary.

So, yes. It is a modern thing which will hopefully die the death soon

[Rjae]

Glad it's not just me being a pedant

[00100001]

So... It's kind like you know like how umm you know how people just talk now, you get me? Totes ridic, right???

[00100001]

At the end of the day, moving forward, we should all like , umm, totally, be thinking outside if the box here and driving peeps to adopt a bluesky way of talking

[Jackie0]

Radio 4 was the first place I started to notice it too.
I think it's something to do with media training a lot of people get these days.
It creates a complete sound bite rather than being obviously an answer to a question.
That's my theory anyway.
I'm not a fan.

[JeanneDeMontbaston]

'Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum ...' is the first line of English poetry; the KJB uses 'And lo!' or just 'lo!' ... I think it's probably fairly natural to start with some sort of place-filler word that just alerts you to what's coming (like saying 'listen up, I'm going to speak now', but more brief).

[BatmanLovesMenInEyeliner]

Rubbish - that's Keith! How can Keith make you want to poke your own eardrums?

[5446]

Have to admit, I do use it a lot. I speak a couple of languages and always find it worse when I spend time in Europe, so I assume it is something I have picked up from there.