![]() |
|
![]() | ||
|
Subject:
Why use "So" when "Well" works so well?
Category: Relationships and Society > Law Asked by: socraticinstlouis-ga List Price: $3.25 |
Posted:
27 Jul 2006 20:52 PDT
Expires: 26 Aug 2006 20:52 PDT Question ID: 750257 |
When did the word "so" become an acceptable substitute for the word "well", at the beginning of a statement? Actually, I don't really mean when, I mean why, or how, did this happen (if it did, as it seems to me to have done). For example, if someone were to ask you "Dagmar, how is it that you came to find yourself earning the majority of your livelihood by answering questions on Google Answers?", would you say, "Well, I found myself making a living on Google Answers quite by accident. I remember it like it was just last year. I was alone in Nadeen IV, hauling in the last of my drift-nets on a hazy, windless Wednesday afternoon, about three hundred and fifty leagues southeast of the Manhasset lighthouse, when I see what I thought must have been the largest wad of sea-skimmin' kelp ever to enter the transonic regime, and it was headed right for me and Nadeen.", or would you say "So, I found myself making a living on Google Answers quite by accident ..." etc.? In the past year I've been in the extended presence of two examples of people who insisted on using "so," where there should be a "well,", namely, at the beginning of the answer to a question. But in both instances I was so stunned at the lack of basic decency revealed by the substitution of that word (so), so appalled by the sudden turn toward bellicose antagonism (dictionary.com), that I found it frankly difficult maintain the smirk that I choose as my imperturbable countenance. But I did, and now it's up to you to relieve my fears or make them whole: Is this what I have to look forward to? Is "so" the new "well"? |
![]() | ||
|
There is no answer at this time. |
![]() | ||
|
Subject:
Re: Why use "So" when "Well" works so well?
From: myoarin-ga on 28 Jul 2006 17:27 PDT |
Hi, Starting the answer to a question or a reply in a conversation with "Well, ..." is only a rhetorical habit, maybe to gain time to formulate the response, usually suggesting that one has understood and is considering what the other person has just said, whereby it can be a polite way of questioning that or of expressing contradiction, less contradictory and confrontational than opening with "But ...". "Well," is otherwise entirely unnecessary - in your example and most situations. So you're upset by people starting their reply with "so"? I agree with you that "well" would be better in the usage I have explained above, but if they mean it only that way, and what follows can't be interpreted as antagonistic, I would just consider their usage to be an idiosyncrasy. I expect the usage is then really a conjunction, they are joining their reply as an explanation to what has just been said, not a preferred practice, but common enough in the speech of some people who use run-together sentences so much that they can't start a reply without linking it to what has just been said. Incidentally, I didn't find "bellicose antagonism" on dictionary.com. The nearest I found were the examples: "Apparently; well, then. Used in expressing astonishment, disapproval, or sarcasm: So you think you've got troubles?" and "Used to express surprise or comprehension: So! You've finished your work at last." These are specific usages, the implication given by what follows. If this wasn't the case with your two persons, I cannot follow your being "stunned at the lack of basic decency ..." If they didn't mean to imply that, then they were using the word differently than you inferred by nailing the "bellicose antagonism" meaning to it. Well [sic ;-], that is just my interpretation. I think I use "well" here more than I do in speech to try to bridge the online communication gap that facial expressions would fill. I'll be interested in others' opinions. Regards, Myoarin |
Subject:
Re: Why use "So" when "Well" works so well?
From: tutuzdad-ga on 28 Jul 2006 18:42 PDT |
I don't think this is new, nor do I think it is unique to the English speaking world. During the almost 2 years I lived in Southern Germany I found that the German speaking people in the Rhineland-Palatinate region where I lived frequently used the word "so" (perhaps not spelled that way) to preface many statements; in particular when someone was demonstrating something, pausing between statements, or attempting to make a point. I don't know if this usage is common throughout Germany or Europe as a whole, but it was certainly prevalent where I lived. tutuzdad-ga |
Subject:
Re: Why use "So" when "Well" works so well?
From: myoarin-ga on 29 Jul 2006 03:58 PDT |
Tutuz, You are quite right, and it isn't limited to Southern Germany. "So" can be used with different inflections: questioning, neutral, provoking, or to end discussion of a topic. One older person used to remark at my own usage of "so", so maybe he felt it wasn't always appropriate - or I still don't have the right feel for the language. There is a wonderful sketch by the Swiss Emil Steinberger, a caberettist, that spuffs German usage of "so". In his slowly spoken version of high German, he describes how one is treated in one of those US restaurants where a waiter greets one very personably, offers the menu, fetches water, explains the finer points of the entrees and describes in mouth-watering terms the chef's special that isn't on the menu. Then Emil explains that in Germany service is much more efficient. The waiter drops the menu on the table and disappears, reappearing later, and packages all that personable service in a single word: "So!?" Anyway ... |
Subject:
Re: Why use "So" when "Well" works so well?
From: socraticinstlouis-ga on 29 Jul 2006 20:50 PDT |
This is great; I was hoping there would be several comments on this question. myoarin, sorry my attempts at hyperbole near the end of the question didn't hit the mark; I don't really feel that "bellicase antagonism" is implied by the use of 'So,' at the beginning of the answer to a question. But it does antagonize *me* slightly when I hear that happen, even if it's one of those gut reactions that are simple, if not pleasant, to overcome. Since I haven't gotten used to hearing it, I still have the momentary reaction that the person's response, beginning as it does, will not be an answer to the question currently hanging in the air, but rather a divergence toward other matters. If nothing else, it serves to indicate how hardwired I am, at 46, to expect certain sounds at certain places in a conversation. |
Subject:
Re: Why use "So" when "Well" works so well?
From: myoarin-ga on 30 Jul 2006 04:21 PDT |
So, I thought you were quoting "bellicose antagonism" from dictionary.com. Maybe it's a lingering influence of German in St. Louis ... In German, "so" could be an abbreviated "also", which means "thus", "therefore", which is sometimes used like "well" in English, as a filler before starting a reply. Not recommended by rhetoricians, of course. If you only notice this with two persons, maybe it is their idiosyncrasy or their unusual inflection that draws attention. Or maybe it is a fad. Back in the 1960s, lots of people would tack a "y'know" onto every sentence and onto phrases within sentence. Some sportsman was caught with 11 "y'knows" in one sound bite. I hope someone closer to the scene adds some information or an opinion. Cheers, Myoarin |
Subject:
Re: Why use "So" when "Well" works so well?
From: tutuzdad-ga on 30 Jul 2006 19:15 PDT |
One professor is said to have explained that the purpose of superfluous words and phrases are "to keep the motor of the tongue idling between thoughts" Indeed the scenario as related by Steinberger is a familiar one. The waiter returns and expects the order to be made. In essense he returns and asks, "Well?". So you see, the question at hand cannot be answered accurately. Presicely when and where such a phrase developed is very difficult if not impossible to determine. The fact is the phrase (as used in Europe at least) and it's usage is probably older than the three of us combined. And that's like, really old, y'know? (sorry, I couldn't resist using the two most irritating phrases ever invented) tutuzdad-ga |
If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by emailing us at answers-support@google.com with the question ID listed above. Thank you. |
Search Google Answers for |
Google Home - Answers FAQ - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy |