I've never had ATC "offer" me a SVFR clearance. I had to ask for it first. There are certain words and phrases that they should not use - I agree with the idea of the "departure/take off" comment.
I *believe* that ATC used the correct phraseology with "Are you declaring an emergency" - if you elect to answer in the affirmative then it's up to you to decide the level of attention.
Heard a Pan-Pan call go out in the USA recently, a helicopter had a bird strike in which the feathery critter came through the canopy and splattered against the pasengers and pilot.
The call *started* with "Pan-Pan" and ended with pilot intentions which were "I *am* landing on the threshold of your runway 06" (It wasn't a request).