Mr. Ashmann sounds totally right. I always say 'kind of', but I think it is more American. My Grandmother always used sort.

Used as a noun, the words are interchangeable. "What type/sort/kind of apple is this?" The difference between these three words would be seen in the idioms in which they are used. "Out of sorts" = not feeling well "Sort of" = "kind of" = somewhat; you would not hear "type of" in this usage, however. "Of a sort" implies inferior quality.

When the reference is to the quality of something 'kind' and 'sort' are interchangeable ,while 'type' wouldn't be a substitute in that case: "He is kind of nice' ( sort of weird),but not 'type' of nice ,weird). When you are talking about people's qualities ,'kind' and 'type' are more applicable than 'sort' "He is my type' ,'he is my kind' , but not 'he is my sort'. It seems like 'type 'is more concerned with persons ,while 'sort ' refers mostly to 'things/objects'. 'Kind' fits in both cases.

Kind is a strang word... has double meaning.. first to describe what type of person someone is.. for example: " he is a kind man" Also to define something.. such as "what kind of clothes should i bring to china when i visit next week?".. in this case, Kind means what "type" of clothes.. the answer would be summer clothes of course. You can substitute SORT for the word TYPE in the previous sentance.. "what sort of clothes should i take..... etc etc" the response would be the same.. Bring summer clothes. Sort and Type can also be used to ask "What sort/type/kind of person is he?" All three words are very interchangelable.. this probably looks confusing, but the previous senantance is really all you need to know.. cheers