Mostly, I love Friday.
I've known my son was a little quirky since they
day he was born and I love that my son, now six, is picking up new words and using
them in his speech. It's awesome. Sure, some of them he doesn't know the
meaning behind yet, but he is trying, and that's good. It's learning.
But it's the word mostly
that I currently loath.
Mostly is added (and has been for months and months) to the
beginning of just about every sentence that comes out of my little mans mouth.
Mostly I'd like a drink, please.
Mostly it's snowing outside.
Mostly I'm bored.
Mostly most of the time I like to sing.
Mostly this one time...
This list goes on, seriously, it's added to any sort of
sentence. It can't simply be "the sky is blue" it has to be
"mostly the sky is blue"
I don't get it. I don't know where he would have picked the
word up. To be honest, I don't think I've ever used the word mostly. I actually
questioned whether or not it was an actual word. It just doesn't even sound
right to me. Mostly. It sounds dirty and weird, and gives my tongue a bad
taste.
But it is a word. Even as I write this, I know it has to be
a real word because spell-check has yet to put a squiggly line underneath it
and, well, we all know spell-check is mostly always right.
I've asked him why he does this, to which he has no good
answer. I've tried to sway him to use
other words, or to stop using the word all together.
When writing, we are often told to cut out unnecessary
words. Comb the novel, the short story, the whatever you're writing and delete
anything that doesn't need to be there. Anything that doesn't serve a purpose.
I've decided that mostly never has to be in a sentence.
There just isn't a need for it. You can say something clearer and more concise
without it. Mostly is a useless word.
And yet, my son can't seem to break the habit.
I'm hoping, sooner rather than later, that he will pick up a
new word, one that actually makes sense to me, and will use that in place of mostly
because I find it just plain mostly annoying.
Does your kid have any speech patterns that once were cute
but are now mostly annoying? Please share. Mostly I'd like to know that I'm not
the only one.
22 November 2013 at 10:21
Maybe you could redirect him to a better word. Like "frankly".
Frankly, I'd like a drink.
Frankly, I'm bored.
It would make sense, and it would weird the heck out of strangers, to hear such a word come from a 6 year old.
Frankly, I think that's a great idea. :)