The joys of learning our language.

Lacey learned a new word today.

“Ellie, what does ‘yano’ mean?”

“It means when you pretend to think about something and you almost say yes, but you actually just say no.”

“Interesting.”  She paused and tried it out again.  “Yano.”

“It’s ‘yeah…no,’” I corrected her.

Thoughtful silence.  “Yano.”

“Do you have any homework?”

“Yano.”

“Yeeeaaaah…no,” I tried again, emphasizing the 'yeah' part.

She didn’t hear the difference.

All evening, that’s what I heard.  Yano.  She didn’t just say it in response to questions or requests, though.  She’s begun to use it a bit like a filler word.

I wonder if she’ll ever figure out how to actually use it.