So ?

What really irritates me is the use of the word 'of' instead of have, as in "I should of. . . ."

I know plenty who would benefit from one of your courses Tillybelle
?
The language evolves. Means of communication evolves.
Can anyone explain when and why did contestants on game shows start to applaud themselves? I find this very odd.

I get annoyed at "we was" and "was you" (as in "what was you doing?").

I agree with the ‘so’ bit but I also hate the upspeak/questioning voice at the end of a sentence and when a good friend of mine says ‘are you joking me’ aahhh!

I listened to an interview with Liam Gallagher the other day every sentence contained "know what I mean" at least once and often more.
Even the interviewer laughed about it afterwards. Not during the interview though, knowing Liam's reputation he'd probably gave got a punch on the nose!

"Fantastic"!

Basically! I know a couple of people whose conversations are littered with “basically this” and “basically that”.

‘Yourself’ and ‘myself’ in place of you and me. I spent ages editing letters and notes that my administrator had typed up where she’d decided to change my template from “You live with your husband....” to “Yourself and your husband live together....”. Even when I explained what I wanted she disagreed with me and informed me that I was wrong. I may well be wrong, however, I was paying her wages and signing the letters!

I used to drive my husband mad by peppering my sentences with ‘wonderful’ so I’m aware I’m far from perfect.

BlueSapphire. I completely agree! I heard it once in a setting that utterly threw mw and I nearly corrected it!

I still think it is a "bad grammar" error. It belongs with colloquial speech and people need to know the difference between that and professional or public speaking. That's what we tried to teach at the FE College. It wasn't about not having a regional accent btw! We encouraged people to be proud of that so long as they recognised the need to enunciate clearly.

I have a mug with "I am silently correcting your grammar" written on it.

I have another with a list of grammar rules including saying "could of = you're an idiot"

The one I shall always refuse to accept because it confuses the meaning is "somethink". It does make me scream inside.

Oh Fran3669! I love you:

Yourself’ and ‘myself’ in place of you and me

have you noticed how it's people who are trying to sound important who say that? They just sound pompous!

It reminds me - I did discourse analysis and other social use of language type courses in my weird and wonderful training(s). It is brilliant! Well- sometimes tedious. But you can listen to discussions on telly in such a different way. Also notice changes in direction in discussions and how people use "power" speech or threaten others oh so sweetly or try to suggest something that hasn't occurred by 'planting' an idea in people's minds. I think the Police learn some of it in the CID. Of course if you make a person feel inferior or have to fight for their reputation then you are very powerful. Unfortunately you can do this by correcting their grammar! But not always - some of us just don't care!

Yet another sad sign of the times, please and thank you seem to have gone out of the window as well. Much nicer to hear Diamonds and Pearls coming out of one's mouth instead of Newts and Toads !

Is starting a sentence with 'so' really any less acceptable than starting sentences with 'oh', 'I'm afraid', or 'well', to name but a few?

I have spent years teaching foreign languages privately (to adults, in the main), and can honestly say that although many of my students have been well-educated, intelligent people, I have yet to teach a single person who speaks 'perfect' English, according to the very artificial, geographically and socially-limited and outdated 'rules'.
Hardly surprising, as there is no such thing as perfect English, given that English is a living language, permanently evolving and mutating.
The so-called rules have never been any more than a very generalized representation of its use at a given moment in time.
Embrace it, enjoy it and expand it!

Even Prince Harry uses 'Myself and Xxx.' I hope the Queen gives him an earful about that!

"Are you alright?" to someone lying inert in the road, and apparently near to death.
"So I turned round to him, and said what I wanted to say, then he turned round and said - " etc. etc?
"There you go", by surly waitress as she thumps down your plate of food on the table..

Hearing a sentence started with "SO" is more than fingernails on a blackboard.

'looking to...'
'To be honest with yer....' = 'I'm about to say something offensive
'No problem!' ( when you ask for something or order at a cafe)
'Political correctness gone mad' ('I'm a bigot and proud of it)

My pet irritants are - I know where your comin' from, we're on the same page, and just thought I'd ring you to touch base - feel like saying, don't bother.

Oh and one more I've forgotten - when you have said something and the other party say - brilliant constantly.

eazybee I quite often start posts on social media with "well" as a verbal alternative to putting my hands on my hips.

I had a lovely catchup lunch with an old friend yesterday marred only by her new verbal tic, “yeh yeh yeh/yeh yeh” every time she agreed with something I said. As we agree about most things, this began to grate then really irritate. Had to fight my inclination to comment.

I've just listened to Rick Stein on TV and he used "so" about 5 times in his brief demonstration. I think it replaced the word "next." However, he said the word really quickly whereas the young chef during her demonstration said "sooooo" in a drawn out way at the beginning of her explanations which made if far more noticeable and irritating.

Fabulous50s you’re so right about that “yeh yeh” (or “yeah yeah” as I visualise it in my mind). My great grandson calls his young aunt Auntie Yeah Yeah because that’s how she replies to things and that started me noticing it in others - even my generation! And the most overworked word in the English language? “Amazing”! Where would we be without it?

And then there's "I turned round and said ...." "He turned round and said" etc. etc. That's an awful lot of very dizzy people!