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So when will people stop beginning every statement with "so"? Thread poster: Tom in London
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Suzan Hamer 
Netherlands
Local time: 19:32
English
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| So, what about this? | Oct 22, 2013 |
I first heard "Thank you so much" in an NY airport restroom on a trip back to the US back in the mid-90s, I think it was... maybe early 90s-late 80s, after being away for a few years. It hurt my ears. It just seemed so wrong. Now it seems to be common use, also in the UK.
Is it just me that finds it affected-- to say the least? It drives me crazy every time I hear it. What's wrong with "Thank you very much"? Isn't "very" enough? Is "so" correctly used (as an intensifier ... See more I first heard "Thank you so much" in an NY airport restroom on a trip back to the US back in the mid-90s, I think it was... maybe early 90s-late 80s, after being away for a few years. It hurt my ears. It just seemed so wrong. Now it seems to be common use, also in the UK.
Is it just me that finds it affected-- to say the least? It drives me crazy every time I hear it. What's wrong with "Thank you very much"? Isn't "very" enough? Is "so" correctly used (as an intensifier or anything else) here? Thoughts? (Particularly grumpy for some reason this fine fall Tuesday morning.) Thank you so much.
[Edited at 2013-10-22 08:09 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:32
Portuguese to English
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| Thank you SO much | Oct 22, 2013 |
Interesting you should mention that one as the first time I remember hearing it with any frequency was from a Russian girl in an office I once worked in (early 90s). Lovely though she was it did sound affected. I'm now immune and probably wouldn't notice it.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:32
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER | On bended knee | Oct 22, 2013 |
Lisa Simpson, MCIL wrote:
Interesting you should mention that one as the first time I remember hearing it with any frequency was from a Russian girl in an office I once worked in (early 90s). Lovely though she was it did sound affected. I'm now immune and probably wouldn't notice it.
I think this way of expressing oneself is too much for the understated "don't make a fuss" approach to social relations favoured by the British outlook. Saying "thank you SO much" would be considered "gushing" or "wet". But so long as the person saying it doesn't actually go down on their knees and kiss one's feet, I think it's tolerable.
[Edited at 2013-10-22 08:27 GMT]
Which reminds me of the Italian expression "andare via all'inglese" ("leaving, in the English way"): this consists of quietly leaving a room without announcing it and not saying "goodbye" to anyone.
[Edited at 2013-10-22 08:29 GMT]
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Suzan Hamer
Netherlands
Local time: 19:32
English
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| That's it, Tom. Thanks. | Oct 22, 2013 |
Tom in London wrote: Lisa Simpson, MCIL wrote:
Interesting you should mention that one as the first time I remember hearing it with any frequency was from a Russian girl in an office I once worked in (early 90s). Lovely though she was it did sound affected. I'm now immune and probably wouldn't notice it.
I think this way of expressing oneself is too much for the understated "don't make a fuss" approach to social relations favoured by the British outlook. Saying "thank you SO much" would be considered "gushing" or "wet". But so long as the person saying it doesn't actually go down on their knees and kiss one's feet, I think it's tolerable.
I think you've hit the nail on the head. I think it might be the gushing that drives me nuts --and I'm an American... (tempered though by over a decade in Israel and more than two decades here in the Netherlands; maybe that's why it hurts my ears.) But I am hearing it more and more on the BBC... so the British have been infected too.
Which reminds me of the Italian expression "andare via all'inglese" ("leaving, in the English way"): this consists of quietly leaving a room without announcing it and not saying "goodbye" to anyone. [Edited at 2013-10-22 08:29 GMT]
I must be English then... I hate goodbyes, long or short. What a great expression.
[Edited at 2013-10-22 15:27 GMT]
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 19:32
French to English
| English good-byes | Oct 22, 2013 |
Tom in London wrote:
Which reminds me of the Italian expression "andare via all'inglese" ("leaving, in the English way"): this consists of quietly leaving a room without announcing it and not saying "goodbye" to anyone.
In French there's "filer à l'anglaise" which neatly translates as "taking French leave" which boils down to the same thing.
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Suzan Hamer
Netherlands
Local time: 19:32
English
+ ...
| That's it, Tom. Thanks. | Oct 22, 2013 |
Tom in London wrote: Lisa Simpson, MCIL wrote:
Interesting you should mention that one as the first time I remember hearing it with any frequency was from a Russian girl in an office I once worked in (early 90s). Lovely though she was it did sound affected. I'm now immune and probably wouldn't notice it.
I think this way of expressing oneself is too much for the understated "don't make a fuss" approach to social relations favoured by the British outlook. Saying "thank you SO much" would be considered "gushing" or "wet". But so long as the person saying it doesn't actually go down on their knees and kiss one's feet, I think it's tolerable.
I think you've hit the nail on the head. I think it might be the gushing that drives me nuts --and I'm an American... (tempered though by over a decade in Israel and more than two decades here in the Netherlands; maybe that's why it hurts my ears.) But I am hearing it more and more on the BBC... so the British have been infected too.
[Edited at 2013-10-22 08:27 GMT]
Which reminds me of the Italian expression "andare via all'inglese" ("leaving, in the English way"): this consists of quietly leaving a room without announcing it and not saying "goodbye" to anyone. [Edited at 2013-10-22 08:29 GMT]
I must be English then... I hate goodbyes, long or short. What a great expression.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:32
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
"filer à l'anglaise" doesn't translate as "taking French leave".
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Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:32
French to English
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... I've particularly noticed it from scientists on the radio....
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JH Trads
United States
Local time: 13:32
Member (2007)
English to French
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| filer à l'anglaise | Oct 22, 2013 |
'to make a French exit' is often used as an equivalent of 'filer à l'anglaise'
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mjbjosh
Local time: 19:32
English to Latvian
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Tom in London wrote:
"filer à l'anglaise" doesn't translate as "taking French leave".
It does, Tom, well maybe "to take a French leave" would sound more correct. The Germans offend the French the same way — "sich auf Französisch verabschieden/empfehlen". However, many nations are joking on the expense of others, think alone about all the cases of Dutch in English (courage, nightingale, treat, date, going Dutch etc.).
[Edited at 2013-10-22 22:29 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-10-22 22:29 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-10-22 22:29 GMT]
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:32
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
mjbjosh wrote: Tom in London wrote:
"filer à l'anglaise" doesn't translate as "taking French leave". It does, Tom
For me, "filer à l'anglaise" translates as "taking English leave" but maybe there's something wrong with my French.
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XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:32
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| An explanation | Oct 23, 2013 |
Tom in London wrote:
For me, "filer à l'anglaise" translates as "taking English leave" but maybe there's something wrong with my French.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_leave
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