So, about this message...

[Hillary Brown]

I've also been informed, offlist, that I should report David Foster
Wallace's frequent use of the phrase "and but so."

Mr. Google confirms some particular instances of it a bit better than
Mr. Amazon Search Inside the Book:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22and+but+so%22+david+foster+wallace&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

hb

On 10/26/06, Hillary Brown <hillaryhazelbrown at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Hillary Brown <hillaryhazelbrown at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: So, about this message...
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> According to Joe Dante's contribution to the Showtime series _Masters
> of Horror, titled "Homecoming," such rhetorical devices make the talk
> show participant appear thoughtful, as though he or she is not merely
> repeating talking points but coming up with whatever he or she is
> saying on the spot.
>
> hb
>
>
> On 10/26/06, Charles Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: So, about this message...
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Nicely put!
> >
> > Only in the last year or two have I begun noticing on TV that nearly every response to a question from an interviewer or anchorman begins, "Well, . . ."  Has that always been happening?  Now, when an answer DOESN'T begin with "well," it sounds abrupt, curt, blunt, or unthoughtful.
> >
> > --Charlie
> > ___________________________________________
> >
> > ---- Original message ----
> > >Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 06:17:36 -0700
> > >From: GLL <guy1656 at OPUSNET.COM>
> > >Subject: So, about this message...
> > >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > >
> > >
> > >This use of 'so' may both be as much a new use as it is a new application of an existing tool. I've heard radio ads start with 'so' in the same manner.
> > >
> > >The use of 'so' implies a continuation of a current conversation, indicating an extension or a conclusion of a previously established line of reasoning. If indicating a conclusion, 'so' may be used to indicate a shift in the topic: now that [n] had been settled, we can move on to our next agendum.
> > >
> > >In advertising, or in the case of someone initiating with 'so,' the speaker is trying to establish more familiarity, and therefore a fuller, more complete, or quicker response. Quickness is impled because the speaker is also implying that the social protocols which establish familiarity and a willingness to interact have already been satisfied.
> > >
> > >"You have already authenticated me as a valid speaker and a valid topic - We can now move on to a topic extension or change the subject while retaining the 'OK to talk with' flag."
> > >
> > >So, the 'so' ploy is an attempt to override our normal firewalls we employ when a stranger approaches and starts talking. We first try to figure out WHY we should respond: do I *know* this person, is this person a mental defect talking to himself, or maybe he's got a Bluetooth phone in his opposite ear and his words are part of a conversation to which I am not actually  being invited to respond, or perhaps this is a customer service situation and here is my next customer with a question.
> > >
> > >This use of 'so' is a bit aggressive, meaning 'I don't want you to waste anyof MY time authenticating me - just start listening to my next topic NOW.'
> > >
> > >- G
> >
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
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