Recently I've noticed that students making assembly announcements at the high school where I teach invariably preface their proclamations with "so," followed by a brief pause and then their statement. "So . . . We're having a bake sale."; "So . . . There's a yearbook meeting scheduled for today."; "So . . . the volleyball tournament is this weekend."

Here "so" functions as a handy, all-purpose transitional word that breaks the ice, establishes a casual, non-authoritarian tone and, not incidentally, gives the speaker a chance to summon breath and courage. It seems to have become a mandatory mantra of adolescent self-consciousness.

Two more glimpses into teen talk:

Liking the Participle — Henry McNulty of Cheshire, Conn., has noticed that teenagers often replace the present tense of verbs with the present participle, especially when expressing a preference or desire, e.g. "I'm liking the color," "I'm wanting to go swimming."

Not to be too analytical about it, but this phrasing puts a distance between the speaker and his or her feelings. It's more tentative and noncommittal than the straightforward "I like the color" or "I want to go swimming."

I've heard adults use the preferential participle, usually when they're trying to talk themselves into something or persuading someone else that they're overcoming their initial doubts.

Think of a skeptical wife walking through a house that her husband thinks they should buy. To hint that she might be won over, without fully committing herself, she might say, "I'm liking the cabinets."

Very, Sort of Trendy — Speaking of tentative, Michael Ray emailed me to report that young women are adding a new twist to Valley Girl talk. They're sprinkling their sentences with "very, sort of," as in, "He's just very, sort of, strange when it comes to money." When you think about it, "very" and "sort of" are nearly opposites, so describing something as "very, sort of" is very, sort of hedging your bet.

Speaking of "very," more and more teenagers seem to be using "very" with participles, as in, "He's very paying attention to this," or "She's very making things worse."

Teenagers have been using "so" this way for years ("He's so paying attention to this," "She's so making things worse"), but this is a new "very"-ation.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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