We are breeding an entire generation who have no idea how to use English correctly. More importantly we are breeding an entire generation who don't care that they can't speak their own national language and don't even see why they should care. This is a shocking product of the "it doesn't matter..." education system. To me the most annoying one of all is the use of "myself" and "youself" instead of "me" and "you". Why bother with language at all? Why not just go back to being apes?
In France they are engaged in a wrangle about the plan of the Academie Francaise to prescribe the removal of the circumflex accent from certain vowels in the French language. In England, by contrast, we don't have an Academie Anglaise and everybody can do whatever they damn well please. This is the difference between the English and the French.
As an opener, "So......" suggests the speaker hasn't worked out for himself yet what he wants to say - or how to begin saying it - and is still gathering his thoughts. From the listener's point of view that's a sure sign that its time to be elsewhere if you don't want to die of boredom.
Spelling mistake on my part. The conversational gambit "Soooo....." is what I was driving at. No disrespect intended to the late great Seamus but always been more of a Joyce man myself. Should make more of an effort with Heaney. An overdose of Tollund Man at secondary school didn't help.
A number of ex-colleagues started using "so" to open their presentations after having received some form of coaching; whether public speaking or self confidence I don't know...whatever the reason it sounds pretty lame and is, unfortunately, becoming all too common.
Whilst we're talking about words people use, it always irritates me for some unfathomable reason when people refer to their bikes as "the" Ie, "I was out on the Ducati" instead of "I was out on my Ducati" On bikes, for whatever reason, it seems less silly than when people talk about their cars, but I don't like it. I don't even know what I don't like about it, but it irritates me. Perhaps I need to get out more I use a couple of car forums, and it makes me cringe when people refer to their Ferraris or Porsches as The. ie. "I was driving the Ferrari", instead of "I was out driving my Porsche" etc Is it just me ?
If you start a sentence with 'so', you are indicating that what you are about to say is of specific relevance to the listener because it starts the delivery as if in answer to a question. I guess you it can sound patronising to whoever the recipient is. Is that why folk are getting wound up about it? Do you feel patronised?
