The Washington Post's Linton Weeks takes a stab at understanding "so" and came to the source of all things expert on two-letter words:
Or maybe it's more popular because we need more flexibility in the contemporary world. Michael Erard, author of "Um . . . Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean," says that one thing that makes 'so' so useful is that "it ends with a vowel, which can be shortened or lengthened to fit all manner of emotional tones, settings and situations."He says, "You can be more expressive and also think of what to say next simply by lengthening the vowel."
Weeks wrote a good piece; check it out. As for me, I hope to make it to three-letter words by 2009, right after my exegesis of "of" and "is."
Comments (1)
re ''I was born in San Antonio, Texas, but was raised in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies and in southern New Hampshire. I went to college in Massachusetts, spent a year in Colombia, then taught English in Taiwan for two years. ''
Hi, ME, i am in taiwan, freelance reporter here, ten years, would like to interview you for newspaper story, what is your email address there? email me at
danbloom AT gmail
Posted by danny bloom | June 28, 2007 12:41 AM
Posted on June 28, 2007 00:41