Why do canadians say eh at the end

On the NJ front, I heard someone at a rest stop say she was from Jersey. My dad said there was an SNL character who helped popularize Joisy. Do any of you older folks remember it? He had a scrunched-up perpetual grin, and was always saying "I'm from Joisey! Are you from Joisey? I'm from Joisey! Eventually, Piscopo stopped doing the character because people from New Jersey didn't like it.

I think my grandfather used it, too, but he was from Wisconsin and moved to Vancouver as a teenager. I always thought when I was young that it was just my family! I moved north in and I don't think I've heard it here yet.

I wonder if it originated with the British? After spending time in Germany, I rather miss using "nicht wahr? British speakers depending on dialect may also use "yeah? In the UK, "whatever" is generally a reference to the catch-all response of bored teenagers to adult conversational gambits.

As it originates in Estuary English the eroded Cockney of south eastern England , the "t" is not sounded, and the final syllable is an enervated drop of the jaw: wha'evah , as memorably popularized by comedian Catherine Tate.

I would take a bumper sticker to be an ironic comment: "I could have a slogan here, but I can't be bothered to support any causes". Re the ending of a sentence with 'right? I think it's a bit of a myth that Canadians' say eh at the end of sentences. Perhaps this is equivalent to: "It's your turn to say or do something. Military radio communication: "over". I am a Canadian, raised in Manitoba and Vancouver, and "eh" is a regular part of my speech, as with those of many people around me.

Some people may think it is not "classy", as 83 suggests, but those same people probably would not use the word "classy", and we should not concern ourselves with them. The word has an attractive sound to my ears, and indeed Canadians are as likely to disparage "huh" as Americans are to mock "eh".

The goofy sound attributed by comedians doesn't actually convey the way the word is quite commonly used, a lightly emphasized sound as opposed to a lampooned drawn out and deeply emphasized one.

Eh is used for a number of reasons. Most frequently: Stand-alone: "Eh? I didn't hear you. Can be used as "hey" in circumstances such as: "Eh!! Stupid cat! Watch where you're jumping! Wikipedia notes: The only usage of eh? For example: "The weather is nice. In this usage, it is virtually identical to the Japanese "ne? This usage differs from the French usage of "n'est-ce pas?

It can also be used as a sarcastic remark or insult, which mocks a grunt. As elsewhere, "Eh? In this usage, it is similar to "Huh? It seems to me that it is in common use in some form or other through much of the Commonwealth. So the question isn't so much why Canadians say Eh, but why so few Americans do Interestingly, re New Zealand: "Sounds pretty ethnic, eh?

Young Pakeha women, though, seem to be the next highest users of eh. It is unlikely that they are using it to signal in-group identity in the same way; instead, it is possible that they are responding to its interpersonal and affiliative functions for Maori men, and are adopting it as a new facet in their repertoire of positive politeness markers. Gender, ethnicity, politeness, New Zealand English, intergroup and interpersonal communication.

My guess is that it originated from the French verb "voulez" pronounced vous les; translation-want to? The "eh" should probably be defined as a form of phatic communion. It maintains the social connection between speakers but doesn't carry semantic content. About This topic is not marked as primarily about any work, author or other topic. Touchstones Works Canajan, Eh?

Orkin Outlaws by George V. Higgins Authors Mark M. Orkin George V. Linguists , dictionaries , novels and popular culture all recognize eh as a distinctive part of Canadian English.

As Sandra Schecter says,. Where else do so many academics and laymen spend so much time arguing about it? Search The Canadian Encyclopedia. Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up? Create Account. Suggest an Edit. Enter your suggested edit s to this article in the form field below. Accessed 14 November In The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Historica Canada. Denis's research about the usage of "eh" suggests it's still most commonly used in Northern Ontario, but British Columbia and Alberta also continue to be hotbeds.

He also says we shouldn't underestimate the importance of the two-letter word, even if many young Canadians choose to use "right" or "hey" because there's less stigma attached.

There's a lot of humanity stuffed into this little word. And if Canadians have to be stereotyped, that's not such a bad badge to wear. Paul has been with CBC since Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses.

Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. In response, some have embraced it, adopting it as an element of Canadian patriotism. But what even is this word? How did it come to be so associated with Canada? A tag, in linguistics, is a word or sound or short phrase added after a thought which changes that thought in some way. The most common tags are question tags, which change a thought into a question.