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ESL forum > Message board > WOD competition winner    

WOD competition winner



cunliffe
United Kingdom

WOD competition winner
 
Hello my luvs/chucks/hinnies/darlin�s,
So (everybody starts their sentences with �so� nowadays - it�s driving me crazy!!!), I liked all your entries. It came down to two: glutenfree or silvialefevre. So, as we know, there can only be one winner.... Silvia! I loved her daffynition, which had woofits as wow outfits!!! I haven�t got so many wowoutfits or woofits, but I have  got wow shoes. I might upload a picture of them onto the teachers� café. I am definitely the Imelda Marcos of this site. I�d place any money on it.
So, over to you, Silvia! 
I�m sorry, I can�t remember the real definition, but I did include a link. I�ll have a look. By the way, I mentioned I was going to choose �sitooterie�. That is a nice place where Scottish people can sit outside;-)))
 
Lynne  

5 May 2019      





spinney
United Kingdom

Good choice! Congratulations Sylvie! Clap 
By the way, I SO agree with you!  I don�t know why but that really gets my back up. And it�s relatively recent, too. It doesn�t matter if it�s some expert on TV talking about the economy, a politician, an actor, artist or a partridge in a pear tree. They all have this annoying habit of starting off with "so" which I always thought we did in response to a specific question requiring an explanation but using "well" instead. I wonder who started it all? 

5 May 2019     



yanogator
United States

Spinney,
In the US, it�s even worse. They start with "I mean..."!
 
Bruce 

5 May 2019     



almaz
United Kingdom

Interesting article from 2010 (in The New York Times incidentally) here on initial �so�, and another look at it here in terms of the �recency illusion� (the idea that because you�ve only recently become aware of a particular usage, then it must be of recent origin). Both articles mention the verse from Chaucer�s Troilus and Criseyde:

So on a day he leyde him doun to slepe,
And so bifel that in his sleep him thoughte,
That in a forest faste he welk to wepe 
For love of hir that him these peynes wroughte; 
 
 
 

6 May 2019     



spinney
United Kingdom

Rather interesting, as it goes. Mind you, I�m not sure if Chaucer was the best example. Clearly, the guy couldn�t spell to save his life. 

6 May 2019     



almaz
United Kingdom

And let�s not forget his crap syntax 
 

7 May 2019     



MoodyMoody
United States

almaz, I saw just your comment about "crap syntax" on the forum before reading the whole thread, and I at first thought you referred to "esteemed" US President Donald Trump! I am relieved to see Chaucer instead! I like Chaucer!

9 May 2019     



cunliffe
United Kingdom

So I�m afraid this usage IS a recent thing in everyday life, although its usage in story-telling goes way back. So Chaucer is innocent. I�m not sure about Donald Trump in this particular matter...

10 May 2019     



almaz
United Kingdom

Yes, you�re almost right. But as the linguist Mark Liberman observed (second link above), incipient so isn�t half as recent as people think. And talking of the Great Goblin, you might say its recent usage isn�t exactly "unpresidented" 
 
 

11 May 2019     



cunliffe
United Kingdom

Very clever! I�ll have a look at the links. Annoyingly, I�m starting all my sentences with �So,� and it used to be �Well,�  So, what will it be next? @Bruce, We had I mean ages ago!

11 May 2019