Thursday, December 04, 2008
More Word News
I posted recently on the viral spread of the word 'look'. On both sides of the Atlantic interviewees on television and radio were beginning sentences with 'Look....'. It's irritating because, as I said, it suggests either brutality or lies. But is 'look' now being replaced by 'so'? I just heard somebody talking about something or other in the Today programme beginning every sentence with 'So...'. The word suggests a highly connected and relevant sentence is about to follow but its continued use - it really was like a facial twitch - undermines this by implying the speaker has no idea what he is talking about and is desperately relying on 'so' to provide the illusion that he does. Is there, I wonder, some kind of interviewee-training guru putting them up to this - saying, perhaps, that these pointless words provide a valuable micro-second of thinking time? If so - whoops there I go - he is either a fool or a brilliantly subversive wit.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
Yes I noticed that too - it's pretty brilliant really isn't it?
ReplyDeleteMy father used to use 'so' too, in his seemingly interminable, incoherent rants, e.g.: "Egh well the man has come and done this thing that thing and all the other thing with the dog egh and now the dog is ruined and wants the biscuit and will not behave, egh? So...well, look Elberry, the economic situation is just SO BAD now that egh no one has job egh..."
ReplyDeleteAnd so on.
The Germans use so as a QED. Tommy, I also vent to Oxford, Zo!
ReplyDeleteFrom memory, didn't Jacob Bronowski frequently use the word in that context.
In Ireland, almost everyone I know, including myself, puts "so" at the end of a sentence instead of the beginning. It's pointless and it doesn't mean anything, but we still do it. In keeping with tradition.
ReplyDeleteI suspect the source of the viral spread of 'Look...' is that, in TV interviews and panel discussions, it's very effective in keeping the focus on the speaker when other speakers are trying to jump in.
ReplyDeleteSo? [The speaker tries the path of arrogant bluster, know what I mean] So as I was saying, the electric toothbrush is a great leveller. Brilliant philosophical thrust or aimless blather, it all sounds the same when the Colgate comes out and the buzzing starts up as I listen to Radio 4 first thing in the morning. After that I whack 'em with the sound of kettles boiling and plates rattling. Amazing they can get a word in edgeways, init.
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