Merchant Ivory-Speak

My son Lucas, when he was 2 1/2 years old, began speaking like an actor in a Merchant Ivory movie.

“Merchant Ivory” refers to a film production company established in 1963 which filmed covers of high-falutin’ texts from Henry James, E.M. Forster, and others.  Interestingly enough, James Ivory was born in the decidedly un-high-falutin’ town of Klamath Falls, Oregon, and for many years maintained a cabin at Lake of the Woods, Oregon.

Anyway, my son began speaking like this:

• “Are we not going to school?”
• “Is this not Mommy’s bag?”
• “Will we not go to the playground?”

What was up with that?