"Blame Canada" Boo hoo! Mr. Green
Also, I have never actually met a Canadian who said 'eh'. But then again, all the Canadians I met were from the Prairies.
CanadaThe only usage of eh? that is exclusive to Canada, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, is for "ascertaining the comprehension, continued interest, agreement, etc., of the person or persons addressed" as in, "It's four kilometres away, eh, so I have to go by bike." In that case, eh? is used to confirm the attention of the listener and to invite a supportive noise such as "Mm" or "Oh" or "Okay". It essentially is an interjection meaning, "I'm checking to see you're listening so I can continue.""Eh" can also be added to the end of a declarative sentence to turn it into a question. For example: "The weather is nice." becomes "The weather is nice, eh?" This same phrase could also be taken as "The weather is nice, don't you agree?".Depending on the speaker's tone or the dialectal standard, eh can also be perceived as rude or impolite, as "Repeat that!", and not a request.Further examples of Canadian usage include: "I know, eh?" (Agreement), "Yeah, eh?" (Agreement; tone of voice changes meaning slightly). "I know. Eh!" (Pause between 'know' and 'eh' and emphasise 'eh'. This is an excited agreement.) Although technically questions, these are also said as statements.The usage of "eh" in Canada is often mocked in the United States, where some view its use as a stereotypical Canadianism. Many Canadians dispute its use (for example, singer Don Freed in his song "Saskatchewan" declares "What is this 'Eh?' nonsense? I wouldn't speak like that if I were paid to."). There are many merchandise items on the market today that use this phrase, such as t-shirts and coffee mugs.It is often joked about by Canadians as well, and is sometimes even a part of the national identity[1]. For example, a Canadian national team is sometimes referred to as the "Eh? team." Likewise, at one of their concerts, a member of the Canadian Brass, referring to their arrangement of the jazz standard, "Take the A Train," said that they'd considered calling it "Take the train, eh?"The 2004 edition of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary states that "eh" is used most frequently by residents of Manitoba, Ontario, and New Brunswick, somewhat less frequently in Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and the three territories, and rarely if ever in Nova Scotia, Alberta and Newfoundland. This may reflect cultural differences among the provinces, perhaps including the physical distance between various areas of Canada and major American population centres.
I don't use "eh". But then again... I'm actually a francophone. Razz
I wouldn't really know about usage in Montreal, since I'm in Ottawa (I'm a Franco-Ontarian.)
Here's a Canadian sterotype fact:Any Canadian you meet abroad will always point out how that celebrity xyz that just popped out on the tube is Canadian for the umpteenth time, all while rest of the crowd from different nations look each other with that "I really didn't give a f*ck" look. Smile Seriously, I've must of come across this symptom from about a dozen Canadians (including my wife) while I was living in Korea & Japan. Smile
Quote from: nat on February 06, 2008, 03:26:48 PMAs long as I get my volume reports and such turned in on time nobody takes a second glance.What about TPS reports?
As long as I get my volume reports and such turned in on time nobody takes a second glance.
