So is this a new thing?

I first noticed this with millenials and then later older speakers.

When asking an informational question I recently noticed the other speaker often replies by starting with the word “So…”.

Example: "Why does your product cost more than your competitors?

“So… we use better raw materials, the color lasts longer and we offer a better warranty.”

“What do you do for a living?”

"So I was studying to be an occupational therapist but decided that was not for me and was working at JC Penneys and got laid off now Im in between jobs right now.

Is this something new that has entered into American speech or am I just noticing it now? Is it grammatically correct?

And yes, feel free to be a smart ass and start your reply with “so” as long as you recognize your not that clever! :smiley:
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So as long as I recognize my not that clever what?

Here’s the soundtrack for this thread.

I think of it as the more modern version of “Ah” - that little a sound you use to stall for time as you put your words together.

They’re just buying time to gather their thoughts for a moment. They are aware that “umm…” sounds stupid or implies they’re making something up, so they replace it with “So…” which sounds more like the beginning of an actual sentence.

And there’s nothing grammatically incorrect about starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction.

Well, it hasn’t made any great impact on my consciousness. But then, I very often answer questions by starting with “Well”, and then add a modifier that starts with a conjunctive. So what?

(There’s a specifically Irish use of “so” at the end of a statement, but I find it hard to pin down exactly what function it serves. In part it’s a bit like a particle in German, that carries an implicit colouring to the tone or mood of a sentence, but it’s not clear to me if it emphasises the point the statement makes, or sometimes adds a note of implicit regret, or something else. I suppose it’s an adoptee from something in Irish Gaelic).

So, I’ve personally been doing it for at least three decades.

It’s basically a filler to say “I’m acknowledging that I heard you, but I need a moment to compose my thought”

For me it’s usually of the form, Soooooo,pause Ok, We are going to need to…"

I do this sometimes, but only at work. I remember making a mental note of a lot of people going it when I was a young professional, just out of college. It sort of rubbed off on me, but I know I’m doing it when I do it, so it’s not like the dreaded “uhh…” But if I’m home or out with friends, I never start a sentence with “So…”

I’ve noticed this in about the last two years. Amazingly, it seems to be (IME) young professionals, mostly medical. When my husband was on his final downhill run, a lot of doctors would answer my questions beginning this way. I wondered if it gave them more time to formulate a difficult, but more compassionate response. And due to inexperienced, this was a better lead in (and time waster) than “um.”

To me, it makes the answer sound more like an attempted story to avoid the question than the actual bullshit it really is.

“So, about that wall…here’s the thing…”

Not a new thing at all. It’s being used as an introductory particle. OED has an entry for it (so, adv. and conj., 5c) and has examples from Shakespeare onwards.

I like it when people ask me how I am: “So, so so-so. So?”

I start sentences with “So” all the time, and I’m 66.

I don’t know if we’re all talking about the same thing and it’s probably really hard to articulate why. But, it’s not the regular, old ‘so’ that everyone uses from time to time. This one has a pause after, all be it pretty brief. And it usually starts off most sentences in more of a pontificating manner than just as a part of speech, affectation or transition.

We’ve had threads about this before. To me, it makes people sound like they’re doing stand-up. “So I saw this car the other day …”

The relatively new use of “So” at the beginning of answering a question was initially jarring, and annoying, for me at first. I started hearing all the time listening to NPR several years ago and i’ve gotten used to it. Haven’t started doing it myself yet but it will happen I am sure. I remember the first time a Valley Girl “like” came out of my mouth.
I rely on “Well…” and “Uh…” for the time being. (I was going to say “for the nonce” until I realized how irritating that would be to read, or hear.)

Not a new thing but it’s definitely gaining traction. I am unfortunately tuned into it and I can’t *not *hear it.

Watch an episode of Shark Tank. It is becoming rare for a pitcher’s answer to a question to not begin with “So…”.
mmm

We’ve had threads on this many times before.

So?

So, I notice it the most on NPR interviews.