Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Canadian English Eh!!!
Canadian language is unique as they use slang to say things faster, unlike American slang which aims to make the speaker appear ‘cool’. Canadians use slang to speak as little as possible as their mouths freeze in the harsh winters.
For example, “two-four” means 24 beers (Australian translation; ‘a carton’). Incidentally, the handles on Canadian six-packs are huge, so you can fit a mitten through it. Canadians would also say ‘toque’ not ‘knitted woolen hat’ as the words take to long to say and would freeze in their mouths.
‘Eh’ is a popular phrase. It is more of a sound than a word. It seems to be a version of the Australian ‘ay’. The Canadian ‘Eh’ - (pronounced "ey", as in "hey" or "hay") is a word you add to the end of a sentence, to ask for a response of agreement or disagreement, similar in meaning to "don't you think?", or "right?" ("Looks like a storm comin' in, eh?").
It is also sometimes used with "I know", and in that case it doesn't really mean anything. ("Wow, the Calgary Flames really kicked butt tonight!" -"I know, eh?").
For example, a Canadian might say "That's really far, eh?" In that case the Canadian isn't asking if a person agrees, they are using the word to emphasize what they just said. The common Canadian response to "That's really far, eh?" is usually "I know, eh?" Again, it's used more for emphasis in this case. Confused? Well, hold on, because it gets even more complex.Canadians have managed to include the word "eh" into pretty much every sentence. It's quite common for a conversation like the one above to degenerate into a series of "ehs" that become increasingly meaningless but still important.
"That's really far, eh?"
"I know, eh?"
"You should leave now, eh?"
"I guess I should, eh?"
"I've been there before, eh?"
"Eh?"
"Yeah. It's really nice there, eh?"
"Maybe I should take a camera, eh?"
"You should, eh."
"It's a nice day, eh?"
"We've had a nice week, eh?"
"Eh?"
"I said 'we've had a nice week, eh?'"
"Oh yeah."
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
"Eh."
"Beers?"
"EH!"
A non-Canadian looking at the exchange above would consider the usage of "eh" ridiculous and unnecessary. A Canadian would wonder why there weren't a couple more "ehs" in there.
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Mum here; I think that Canadians would fit right into North Queensland, as that is exactly how we used to speak when we lived there. Incidentally, Scott was born in North Queensland so that may explain why he understands Canadian so well. But we would have spelt it 'ay' not fancy like 'eh'.
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