So, is there a new use of so?

[Alice Faber]

Jason Norris wrote:
> Lately, I've been noticing an interesting use of the word "so," and was wondering where it might come from? I've heard it more from students and only within the last few years.
>
>   Example: A woman walks in and says, "So I was trying find a parking spot yesterday when it started raining..."
>
>   She wasn't using the word "so" to connect something she had already said. We haven't seen her all day and the first word out of her mouth is, "So..."
>
>   I have heard "so" used at the beginning of a thought, but in different ways.
>
>   First, if the conversation moves into something embarrassing, someone might, in that period of awkward silence, "So...how 'bout them Cubs?" Even then, it is related to something that came before.
>
>   The second use I've heard is from comedians. "So these three public radio hosts were talking about the weather one day..." (Or something funny).
>
>   So, back to this other use of the word, "so." It is not like those examples. The tone is different. Not everyone uses it -- mostly young people.
>
>   Have you heard this? Where might it come from? My hunch is it is from some television show or movie, but I was wondering what you think about it.
>


Our lab president, a few years older than I am (50+) who has lived her
entire life in New England does this. I can't imagine a less likely
person to be influenced by TV or other mass media.


--
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Alice Faber
faber at haskins.yale.edu
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