[Ads-l] Meaningless "so" at start of reply sentence

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

Yesterday a friend asked me about something I've noticed for at least a year: On TV and radio I often hear a response to a question begin with the meaningless word so.

E.g.:

Question: Did the Democrats have a good turnout?

Answer begins: So let's look at the figures.


Has this feature been treated yet in any linguistic discussions?  And is my impression correct that it is a relatively recent development (the past year or two)?


Gerald Cohen



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