[Ads-l] sentence-final "so"

[Laurence Horn]

Jon, does your sentence-final “so” have a final rising intonation? I’m assuming the Irish one Michael mentions doesn’t.

LH

> On May 12, 2021, at 9:51 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Fascinating.
> 
> But does it have such wide application?
> 
> The exx. suggest that, in Ireland, it abbreviates an idiomatic clause ("So
> it is," "So I will.")
> 
> In my experience in the U.S., what might follow is usually entirely vague:
> "I'm going down to the store, so."  "So you should tell me if you need
> anything"? "So I'll be gone for a while?" "So I can't do anything else
> right now"?
> 
> JL
> 
> On Wed, May 12, 2021 at 9:23 AM Michael Everson <everson at evertype.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> Ubiquitous in Ireland. “It’s a grand day, so (it is.)” “I’ll leave you to
>> it, so (I will).”
>> 
>> Michael Everson
>> http://evertype.com
>> 
>>> On 12 May 2021, at 14:08, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I've been noticing this for possibly five years, but it could be more or
>>> less.
>>> 
>>> Quora.com:
>>> 
>>> Q: Which is worse, homophobia or cacophobia?
>>> 
>>> A: I mean, more people are homophobic than cacophobic so.
>>> 
>>> I'd have put in a comma before "so," because there's usually a pause.
>>> 
>>> It seems to have developed from a feeling that more should be said, but
>> the
>>> speaker doesn't know what.
>>> 
>>> My feeling is that it was preceded by the (still existing), "so -- you
>>> know."
>>> 
>>> JL
>>> --
>>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>> truth."
>>> 
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org