So is an English word that, apart from its other uses, has become increasingly popular in recent years as acoordinating conjunctive opening word in a sentence. This device is particularly used when answering questions although the questioner may also use the device.So may also be used to end sentences. When ending a sentence, it may be:
The first known written use ofso as a sentence opener is in several lines ofChaucer'sTroilus and Criseyde, published in the mid-1380s, for example:[2][3]
So graunte hem sone out of this world to pace (So grant him soon out of this world to pass);
So as a sentence opener has been used in later historical literary works such as:[2]
It is widely believed that the recent ascendancy ofso as a sentence opener began inSilicon Valley.Michael Lewis, in his bookThe New New Thing, published in 1999, noted that "When a computer programmer answers a question, he often begins with the word 'so.'"Microsoft employees have long argued that the "so" boom began with them.[2][3][4]
Various suggestions have been made as to its purpose:
In his Modern English translation ofBeowulf, Irish poetSeamus Heaney uses "So" to translate the single-word opening line,Hwæt! (also rendered 'lo', 'hark', 'listen', etc). He explains that "inHiberno-English Scullion-speak [...] 'so' operates as an expression that obliterates all previous discourse and narrative, and at the same time functions as an exclamation calling for immediate attention. So, 'so' it was".[9]
"So" may refer back to something previously mentioned, such as:[10]
Other possibilities include:
A dangling "so" in conversation invites the listener to articulate or consider the implications of the information provided without the speaker having to articulate it himself or herself.[11][12] It has been interpreted as sometimes a form ofbragging.[13]A dangling "so" in conversation may be represented in text as "so" followed by anellipsis: "...".[1][14] Examples of dangling "so":
"So" may close a sentence as an intensifying adverb, such as in "I love her so". "So" in the middle of a sentence can also be an intensifying adverb, such as in "I so love her".[14]