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The below is the part of conversation in the TV series, Modern Family:

Denise: He had a boom box and a piece of cardboard in his locker. And what was your dance name?

Haley's dad: O-Zone, Yeah

Denise: I drove him to his Star Search audition.

Haley's dad: Which is totally political, by the way.

Haley: O-Zone. That is dead-ass funny. I'm so calling you that.

Haley's dad: Thank you.

What does 'I'm so calling you that' mean? I know what call means such as in the usages, call his name, make a call, etc. But I totally cannot understand the calling in the sentence.

DialFrost
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hbadger19042
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  • (it's funny, the use of "totally" in the final sentence of the question :) ) – Fattie Jun 12 '22 at 16:05
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    In this case call means “use that as your name” – jmoreno Jun 12 '22 at 23:09
  • Isn't the confusion actually caused by somewhy dumping "Denise: I drove him to his Star Search audition. Haley's dad: Which is totally political, by the way" in between "…and what was your dance name? Haley's dad: O-Zone, Yeah)…" and "Haley: O-Zone. That is dead-ass funny. I'm so calling you that."? Doesn't that make the passage as written, incomprehensible. – Robbie Goodwin Jun 14 '22 at 15:57

3 Answers3

38

The existing answers (1, 2) have addressed the use of so, which is functioning as an intensifier. However, they have not addressed the construction I'm going to call you that which also seems to be a point of confusion for the OP.

The relevant meaning here is call someone something

TRANSITIVE to use a particular name or title for someone

call someone something: Her name’s Elizabeth, but we call her Liz. [Source]

So in the dialogue you quoted, Haley has discovered that her dad's dance name was 'O-Zone'. I'm so going to call you that means 'I am definitely going to use that name [O-Zone] for you'.

dbmag9
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    I can't support this answer, it's confusing. The idiom is (of course) "I'm so ..." The rest of the sentence is just normal English. You can say anything you want after "I'm so...". I'm so going to lunch, I'm so gonna kick your ass, I'm so gonna tell everyone your nickname, etc. – Fattie Jun 12 '22 at 15:28
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    @Fattie The OP said "I know what call means such as in the usages, call his name, make a call, etc. But I totally cannot understand the calling in the sentence." So I answered the question of what *call* is doing in this context, which is the *to call someone something* meaning. – dbmag9 Jun 12 '22 at 15:56
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    I see what you mean, you propose the user was thinking of say call == telephone. (I assumed "I know what call means" meant, uh, OP knew what it meant :) ) – Fattie Jun 12 '22 at 16:06
23

In this context, "so" is an example of an intensifier, which is an adverbs that amplifies or, as the name suggests, intensifies meaning. They are also sometimes called degree words (and a few other things besides). Other examples are "really", and "totally".

The particular use you quote is a bit more informal than usual, verging on slang as @DavidSiegel suggests, but the word is still acting as an intensifier.

And that informal use became particularly popular in the late '90s in the TV series, Friends. I remember one line where one of the characters, Joey, gave another, Chandler, a gift of a garish bracelet. When Chandler put on the bracelet, Joey, delighted, exclaimed:

Oh man, you are so wearin' that bracelet.

To which Chandler, grimacing, replied:

I so am.

This has been studied in various places. Here's an example, from the University of Toronto (this PDF hosted at PennState): SO WEIRD; SO COOL;SO INNOVATIVE: THE USE OF INTENSIFIERS IN THE TELEVISION SERIES FRIENDS

tkp
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    Is the use of 'so' in the OP's question an example of 'Valley talk'? – Michael Harvey Jun 10 '22 at 04:46
  • It's definitely part of it. I can imagine Drew Barrymore speaking like that. She's from Culver City, in the LA area. I'm not sure if it is strictly "valley", but I don't think Valspeak is *that* geographically specific. But even if it is part of Valspeak, it is broader than that. At very least, as my example of *Friends* suggests, it was found in New York city too. – tkp Jun 10 '22 at 04:59
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    I used to like, so hate Valley talk! – Michael Harvey Jun 10 '22 at 05:07
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    Totally! ------- – tkp Jun 10 '22 at 10:13
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    I'm eighteen years older than Drew Barrymore and have barely ever stepped a foot in the San Fernando valley, being a denizen of the areas between the Atlantic and the Rockies. But I've been using *so* as an intensifier for a long part of my life, particularly in a negative way like this: *Oh I'm so not doing that.* – Lee Mosher Jun 10 '22 at 19:43
  • @MichaelHarvey , whether "I'm so ..." is "valley girl talk" is a great question to which I don't know the answer, and unfortunately the guesses here about whether it is or not, help nothing. – Fattie Jun 12 '22 at 15:29
  • @tkp this answer could be slightly confusing. Sure, "totally" "so" and so on are intensifiers in the kind of 2000s (is that right?) idiom. And it's great you point that out. But **I'm so"** is a **specific**, formalized common let's say species of idiom. It's confusing to not point that out. – Fattie Jun 12 '22 at 15:33
  • @Fattie - I'm so regretting making that comment. Totally. – Michael Harvey Jun 12 '22 at 15:34
  • it's a bottomless humor source :) – Fattie Jun 12 '22 at 15:35
10

The use of "so" in

I am so going to X

is current slang. It means "I very much intend to X". Often it is used in cses where the speaker in fact does not intend to do X, but thinks it funny or teasing to imply the opposite.

I am so going to toss you in the pool.

probably means that the speaker does not intend to do that, but thimnks the image of doing so amusing.

This is very informal usage, mostly among close friends.

David Siegel
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  • "This is *so* not true" is one of the most iconic usages. – Peter - Reinstate Monica Jun 10 '22 at 15:49
  • *You're* **so** *right, love!* Wait! That's not Valley. It's early 1800's London (via Blackadder III Episode 4, Sense and Senility; Mossop replying to Keanrick). – tkp Jun 10 '22 at 21:33
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    I know you were just kidding, but Blackadder is not an accurate representation of 1800s language. (Jokes on this site can really confuse English learners, and the site is for English learners.) – Fattie Jun 12 '22 at 15:34