How we spent our Canadian vacation

[Peter A. McGraw]

I don't know if it's even used in Canadian French, and I've never noticed
it as a feature of French Canadian-accented English.  It's famous as a
feature of Canadian English, and it isn't nasalized--just an [e] with
interrogative intonation.  There's nothing remarkable about the phonology
of it--it's no different from the same word used by some Americans to mean,
"What?" or "How's that again?"  What's remarkable about the Canadian "eh?"
is its use as a sort of universal punctuation mark with no real meaning.
To an American, Canadians seem (or seemed) to conclude every other sentence
with it.

Peter Mc.

--On Monday, August 12, 2002 3:51 PM -0400 Beverly Flanigan
<flanigan at OHIOU.EDU> wrote:

> Now this word/sound is confusing to me.  In Minnesota we always said it,
> pronounced as [e], and I still do.  But is the (French) Canadian sound
> that's always remarked upon a nasalized [e~] or maybe [E~]?  Except that
> western Canada would presumably have the non-nasalized form.  I've never
> been clear on why this little utterance so fascinates people--unless the
> nasal is crucial?
>
>
> At 10:45 AM 8/12/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>> Too bad it's been wiped out in such a large area (east of Sault Ste.
>> Marie), but at least it's a relief that it survives somewhere.  Maybe
>> it'll stage a comeback?
>>
>> Peter Mc.
>>
>> --On Monday, August 12, 2002 1:04 AM -0500 Tom Kysilko <pds at VISI.COM>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>  However, we did not hear the
>>> Canadian "eh" until Sault Ste Marie.  That included ferry passengers,
>>> motel clerks, gas station attendants, waitresses, fellow diners, and
>>> librarians. But West of there it was ubiquitous.
>>
>>
>>
>> ************************************************************************
>> **** Peter A. McGraw
>>                   Linfield College   *   McMinnville, OR
>>                            pmcgraw at linfield.edu



****************************************************************************
                               Peter A. McGraw
                   Linfield College   *   McMinnville, OR
                            pmcgraw at linfield.edu