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I took a trip down to Mexico last week and I heard "so-so" in response to "Do you speak English?" Now, I'm used to hearing "so-so" more in the context of "all right" or "OK", but not as in "more or less". Is this usage correct or is it a lack of good teaching?

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5 Answers

up vote 8 down vote

According to Merriam-Webster, "so-so" means "neither very good nor very bad."

According to The American Heritage Dictionary, "more or less" is an idiom meaning "basically, essentially."

I have often heard Japanese and Korean students of English also use "so-so" in terms of their English proficiencies, and based on cultural context (outward humility), I think they mean to say that they are okay at English, but not great, rather than the seemingly less humble meaning of "more or less" (saying they can basically speak the language).

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The problem with Japanese saying "so" in English is that they often use it as if it were the Japanese そう meaning "yes", "I'm listening" or many related meanings. – Henry Jun 11 '11 at 23:41
@Henry: Actually, そう means something more along the lines of "it's like that" or "really"; the word that means "yes" or "I'm listening" is はい (hai). – Robusto Jun 12 '11 at 1:28
@Henry: When I've asked these Japanese speakers in English if they speak English, they say "so-so" and rotate their hand at the wrist back and forth (to mean their English is okay). They are responding to my English-spoken question in English. Now that I think of it, I do wonder if the hand gesture is a part of Japanese culture or if it is taught to them while learning English. – Eri Jun 12 '11 at 18:57
@Eri. That wrist gesture seems natural to me, and I'm Irish. It's used with the same meaning in Irish Sign Language. – TRiG Jul 31 '11 at 21:32
up vote 6 down vote

So-so means "passable".

When you ask 'Do you speak English?', the response means that though the speaker has the ability to speak English, he might have difficulty in finding grammatically and situationally apt words or phrases or pronunciations in his speech because he is accustomed to a local English dialect which is different from the dialect and accent used by the questioner.

In other words, he is "more or less" able to convey the intended meaning depending on the mutual understanding of the respective local English dialect.

Similarly, when you say your food is so-so, you mean that it is "more or less" okay to eat, depending on your own perspective. For example, one might not find anything excellent about a particular dish, but the spice level might tinge his tongue more than someone who might find the same dish a little bland, but not sufficing enough to complain.

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up vote 2 down vote

It's probably meant in the context of "my English is so-so". That would fit the "alright or OK" definition you mention.

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@christy> Ok.However, I'm still lost.How can one respond to a question in that manner? Do you speak English? Alright or ok? I would be more inclined to use it as in "How's the food"? It's so-so>meaning it's alright or it's ok,but to mean"more or less" doesn't really fit the bill to me.Am I wrong? – stefy Jun 11 '11 at 21:21
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@stefy You could possibly think of if as saying "it's more or less OK", perhaps? I'm not really sure how to explain it other than that the response seems to make sense to me, in that if someone tells me their English is "so-so", I would assume they meant it was OK, but not that great. – Christi Jun 11 '11 at 23:06
up vote 0 down vote

The problem is that in Spanish "más o menos" means both "more or less" and "so-so". As a result people are often confused about which one to use in English. In the same way that English speakers get confused about using "ser" or "estar" in Spanish. The response "more or less" to the question "Do you speak English?" or "How is your English?" isn't really correct but an English speaker will understand the idea!

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up vote -2 down vote

If the question was, how is your English? then So-so would be an appropriate response. To the question, do you speak English? it is incorrect.

I personally hate the use of so-so when people give a judgement about something. When students are learning English, so-so is a lazy response that they over use in many countries rather than challenge themselves with the wide range of adjectives they could use. As a teacher in China I do not allow my students to use it in class and encourage them to use one of a hundred other possible responses.

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5  
This provides your opinion but does not explain why "How is your English?" "So-so." is better or different than "Do you speak English?" "So-so." The answer would be improved by tackling the key issue of the question: Does "so-so" mean "more or less" in these situations? Why do you consider it correct or incorrect? – aedia λ Oct 6 '11 at 3:13

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