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Eh
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Eh ( or in English) is a spoken interjection in Armenian, Japanese, English, Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese
meaning something along the lines of "Repeat that, please". It is also commonly used as a method for inciting an answer, as in "it's nice here, eh?" Lastly, it can also be used to express indifference. In North America, it is most commonly associated with Canada.
The spelling of this sound in English is very different from the common usage of these letters.
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Encyclopedia
Eh ( or in English) is a spoken interjection in Armenian, Japanese, English, Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese
meaning something along the lines of "Repeat that, please". It is also commonly used as a method for inciting an answer, as in "it's nice here, eh?" Lastly, it can also be used to express indifference. In North America, it is most commonly associated with Canada.
The spelling of this sound in English is very different from the common usage of these letters. The vowel is sounded in one of the continental manners, and the letter h is used to indicate that it is long, as though the origin of the spelling were German.
It is an invariant question tag, unlike the "is it?" and "have you?" tags that have, with the insertion of not, different construction in positive and negative questions.
There is some question about the origin of the term. A popular theory is that the "eh" sound is similar to the "ey" sound that a native French speaker will stereotypically say when pronouncing the word "Hey". Dropped Hs are also common to many British dialects.
English
Canada
The 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 occasionally mocked in the United States, where some view its use - along with aboot, an alternative pronunciation of about - as a stereotypical Canadianism. Such stereotypes have been reinforced in popular culture, and were famously lampooned in South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut; however, many Canadians dispute its use and it is estimated that only 1-3% of all Canadians actually say aboot. 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. 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?". A classic joke illuminating this: "How do you spell 'Canada'?" "C, eh, N, eh, D, 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 and Labrador. This may reflect cultural differences among the provinces, perhaps including the physical distance between various areas of Canada and major American population centres.
In the Canadian animated reality show, Total Drama Island Ezekiel is one of the twenty teens on the show and is a stereo-typical Canadian redneck who uses the term "Eh", usually at the end of a sentence.
Elsewhere
The usage of the word is widespread throughout much of the UK, particularly in the north of England, in places such as Yorkshire, Cumbria, and the Midlands, and also in various parts of Scotland.
"Eh?" used to solicit agreement or confirmation is also heard regularly amongst speakers in Australia (where it is sometimes spelled "ay" on the assumption that "eh" would rhyme with "heh" or "meh"). In the Caribbean island of Barbados the word "nuh" acts similar. The usage in New Zealand is similar, and is more common in the North Island. It is also heard in the United States, especially Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (although the Scandinavian-based Yooperism "ya" is more common), Oklahoma and the New England region. In New England and Oklahoma, it is also used as a general exclamation as in Scotland and the Channel Island of Jersey
Since usage of the word "eh" is not as common in the United States as it is in Canada, it is often used by Americans, and indeed Canadians themselves, to parody Canadian English.
The equivalent in South African English is "hey".
Sweden
In Sweden, "Eh" is most commonly used as a way of filling out a sentence when speaking, usually when the person talking has not yet come up with a way of continuing what he/she just said; "there's much, eh, difficulties in Israel"
Similar terms in other languages
Japanese Hei? is a common exclamation in Japanese and is used to express surprise. It is also used when the listener did not fully understand or hear what the speaker said. It can be lengthened to show greater surprise (e.g. Heeeeee?!). Nei/ne?/naa are extremely similar to the Canadian eh, being statement ending particles which solicit or assume agreement, confirmation, or comprehension on the part of the listener.
Hein is used in French and in Brazilian Portuguese in much the same way as in English.
Hain is used in Mauritian Creole and it can express a variety of ideas. It is generally used in context of a conversation and is generally interpreted very quickly.
Wa or wahr ("true" or "correct") is used in (very) colloquial German to express a positive interrogative at the end of a sentence, much as Eh is used in Canadian English. Statements expressed in Standard German are more commonly phrased in negative terms and outside of colloquial usage the ending interrogative is often nicht wahr, which invites a response of stimmt ("agreed", literally "that's right").
Egyptian Arabic "????" as "What? say it again". It could also mean "What's wrong?" either in a concerned manner or a more aggressive one, depending on the tone used to pose the question.
External links
- . Video tutorial on the nuances of eh.
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