LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.10.25 (01) [E]

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From: Global Moose Translations <globalmoose at t-online.de>
Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.10.24 (05) [E]

Am I right in assuming that the Canadian "eh?" is derived from the French
"hein"?

Gabriele Kahn

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From: Helge Tietz <helgetietz at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.10.24 (05) [E]

May I add to the "eh"-discussion that there is one
dialect in the UK which has uses an "eh" in the end of
every sentence and that is the one of the City of
Carlisle in Cumbria, the locals put a short "ae"
almost at any sentence they say, like "that's really
weird, ae"... . The dialect of Carlisle is is many
respects similar to Northumbrian but has distinctive
characteristics and is influenced by the northern
Cumbrian dialects as well. They, for instance, swop
the "h", they drop the h in words as house, therefore
pronouncing it "oose" but add one in words like "oil"
making it sound like "hoil".

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From: Criostoir O Ciardha <paada_please at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.10.24 (05) [E]

Dear all,

bowman wrote:

"a
similar pattern is some US speakers where every sentence is ended on a
rising
pitch like a question, but there is no tag added. It can be difficult to
tell
if it is a declarative sentence or really a question."

I use "eh" to take the edge of a sentence... e.g., "Oh, that's really bad,
eh..." I always think of it more as "hey" than "eh". An earlier contributor
postulated that Canadians in Australia may have brough the tag with them
although I'm not so sure. I picked it up from South African friends (who had
also spent time in Zambia) in Perth - the parents were Afrikaans speakers
and the children English monoglots. Everyone I quizzed about "eh" origin in
Western Australia firmly stuck to a New Zealand via New South Wales origin.
Does it occur in Afrikaans (especially Cape Town "Coloured" Afrikaans if
there is such a variant)?

I think there is definitely some cause to classify "eh" as a general
Commonwealth (specifically ex-dominion) English feature. I have never heard
it in Britain or Ireland. "innit" seems to enjoy comparative currency to
"eh" in England these days, e.g., "Oh, that's really bad, innit..." but that
is a very modern development (last ten years) from south London working
class English as far as I know - easy to track.

Of course, there is the very real possibility that South Africans, New
Zealanders or Australians might have transplanted "eh" to Canada.
Immigration between dominions in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries was
extensive and frequently underestimated.

Go raibh maith agaibh,

Críostóir.

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From: Ed Alexander <edsells at cogeco.ca>
Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.10.24 (05) [E]

At 08:46 PM 10/24/02 -0700, robert bowman wrote:
>Must be a Commonwealth thing. There is a joke around here (which is close
to
>Alberta) about the spelling of Canada:  C, eh? N, eh? D, eh? There is a
>similar pattern is some US speakers where every sentence is ended on a
>rising pitch like a question, but there is no tag added. It can be
>difficult to
>tell if it is a declarative sentence or really a question.

A fellow musician of mine and I used to have names for several of the
various keys, such as the Key of Enlightenment (G), the Key of Revelation
(C), the Key of Existence (B), and the Key of Canada (A).

Of course, Homer Simpson has Canadian roots (true fact), which is why we
say "Cana-duh".

Yes, the rising pattern is sometimes what gives us away in the States, even
when we studiously avoid the "eh" word.  My problem in adapting to Canadian
is that I still get the "root" word wrong, which is pronounced "rute"
instead of "ruet" here.  This despite constant mocking by my wife, together
with my pronunciation of "helicopter" and "plaza".

Ed Alexander, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

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From: R. F. Hahn sassisch at yahoo.com
Subject: Language varieties

As for rising intonation, I find this to occur in Australian English as
well, especially in women's speech, more consistently and universally in
many Irish, especially Northern Irish dialects of English.  When I was new
to the United States, having come from Australia, I would sometimes also use
rising intonation in statements, and people would occasionally ask me if it
was a question.  My theory is that rising intonation in statements is a
further development of constructions with tag questions (e.g., "..., isn't
it?"), where the tag is omitted.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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