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- Jan 14, 2010
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So folks!
As someone said the grammar radar suddenly clicks in when someone points things like this out......
This morning I was listening to radio 4 and suddenly heard a sentence start with "so". The sentence was a contemporary report on the coronation of a King of England, in fact William the Conquer on 25th December 1066 so it would seem this use of so may have been around for many years!
So... 'So...' is native then? That puts a totally different complexion on it. It has the higher moral ground and so should be actively protected and encouraged.
So... All non-native verbal tics are to be discouraged, particularly as they appear to be recent imports that are displacing our native language which has evolved exlcusively in the British Isles since the last ice age.
So... BISSA (British Isle So Sayers Association) will be formed to conserve and promote 'So...'. The immediate priority is to identify and support those areas where 'So...' remains in common usage: John Humphries is announced as President. However, due to some lazy Googling, Peter Gabriel is bemused to be approached as a spokesman.
So... For all you who prefer 'well', 'erm', etc., beware - according to BISSA, should you try and mix the native 'so' with the non-native 'well' or 'erm', the only outcome will be aggression - it will do nothing to help you compose your thoughts, speak clearly, or add weight to your argument.
So... fast forward and we see that after years of procrastination in the face of serious introgression of 'well' and 'erm', the recently imported and much more prolific 'OK, so...' prompts BISSA to up its game with a hard-hitting leaflet campaign.
So... where will it all end?
