Why Do Canadians Say ‘Eh’?

[kager]

See, eh? En, eh? Dee, eh?

“Eh” has proven to be a very difficult thing to study; as an oral tic, it’s rarely written down, and studies have relied on self-reporting—basically, asking people whether and how they use the word. “It’s a very hard thing to do research on, really hard to quantify how much it’s used, who uses it, how it’s used,” she says. Those self-reported studies are necessarily flawed, as Canadians have a tendency to underestimate their use of the word. Gold told me about several instances in which people insist they hardly ever say “eh,” before using the word without realizing it in subsequent thoughts. (“I hardly ever say ‘eh,’ eh?”)

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why- ... ans-say-eh?

[Bryce]

[Bryce]

EdJUkational Programing

[Turkeytop]

Why do Canadians say eh? I wish I knew.

Why do limies say "jolly good?"

Why do southerners say Y'all?

They're all just annoying parochialisms.




All Canadians don't say eh. I don't.

I think it's mostly a middle class affectation. My wife however says it often enough to sometimes make me cringe, if we're out in public. Maybe she has middle class aspirations.

[Rate This]

Why do Canadians say eh? I wish I knew.

Why do limies say "jolly good?"

Why do southerners say Y'all?

They're all just annoying parochialisms.




All Canadians don't say eh. I don't.

I think it's mostly a middle class affectation. My wife however says it often enough to sometimes make me cringe, if we're out in public. Maybe she has middle class aspirations.

You might start posting that way..: it could be folksy...

[Turkeytop]

So, are there any speech mannerisms that are peculiar to Michigan or the mid west?

[Bryce]

Michigan says "pop" when most the rest of the world call it soda.

[Turkeytop]

Michigan says "pop" when most the rest of the world call it soda.

We too call it pop.

In Pittsburgh, if you say soda, you mean cola.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

Why do Midwesterners say "ope"? The world may never know.

[Turkeytop]

Why do Midwesterners say "ope"? The world may never know.

What does ope mean?

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

It's said kind of like a surprise "excuse me". " Ope, I didn't see you there."

[Turkeytop]

Every Canadian home has a piece of furniture called a Chesterfield. Anyone guess what it is?

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

I have heard that in that one Barenaked Ladies song "If I had a million dollars". I am guessing a couch? And do Canadians really love Kraft dinner?

[Turkeytop]

Yes, a chesterfield is what you would call a couch or sofa. When my wife starts talking about a chesterfield with our friends in Florida, they look at her like she's from another planet.

Kraft Dinner?

[Bryce]

Us old timers also remember a Chesterfield as a cigarette.



Which means a Chesterfield was also called a fag on the other side of the big pond.