Words as Placeholders

The word 'so' is gaining more and more prominence in our everyday language. While it was formerly a connective word, it is now being placed at the beginning of sentences. For example, Hillary Clinton said late last year, "So it's not only because we believe that universal values support human rights being recognized and respected, but we think that it's in the best interest for economic growth and political stability. So we believe that." The word 'so' is being used in many new ways. The author of the NY Times article asserted that it was perhaps just being used as a placeholder in sentences to give them more substance. Other hypotheses include the word being used as a means for the speaker to express empathy to the listener. No matter the case, when 'so' is being used as anything other than a conjunction, it seems like it's occurrence is superfluous.

The usage of the word 'so' reminds me of the use of 'like' as a placeholder. The word 'like' is added unnecessarily into innumerable sentences. Listening to my own speech is embarassing at times because only when I actively listen can I hear the number of times I use the word for no apparent reason. It makes my language seem so much less intellingent and interrupts the flow of whatever statement I am making. This usage of the word 'like' is definitely something I would like to stem. It makes me sound like a pre-teen drama queen speaking like a valley girl.

I think that there is one thing to be said for the casual use of language. Of course not every situation requires a formal use of speech, especially in this age of texting and social media. Nevertheless, there should be some standards. I don't think that the Secretary of State should be starting her sentences with the word 'so,' just as she would strive to prevent her sentences from beginning with 'uh' or 'um.' Overall though, this usage of the word is not the be all, end all as the author of this article reacted. Language is constantly evolving, so perhaps the usage of 'so' will truly no longer be used as simply a conjunction. Who knows? For the meantime though, I hope that our public officials wait for this usage to become widely accepted as grammatically correct.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/us/22iht-currents.html