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Post by Easton on Sept 16, 2020 9:40:58 GMT -5
One word used widely throughout Canada is a simple word only 2 letters long: "eh". It has become a Canadian stereotype in the United States, especially on American television shows in which they poke fun at us. The word immediately symbolizes Canada. Unfortunately, it is rarely used properly and, even more rarely, pronounced properly.
It is usually followed by a period when used on its own ("Eh.") or a question mark when used at the end of a sentence, and it's always preceded by a comma ("words, eh?"). Both are pronounced differently from each other. The period version is a clipped version of the 'e' sound in 'Seth'. The question mark is a clipped version (shorter) of the 'eigh' sound in 'eight' or 'sleigh'.
Americans tend to pronounce "eh?" the way Fonzie pronounced "ayyyy" except that they phrase it in the form of a question, and they pronounce it on it's own. In fact, 'eh?' is an extension of the last consonant which precedes it: "Howzit goin', eh?" (Howzit goin', neh?) or "What's up, eh?" (What's up, peh?)
It's a very complicated word for only 2 letters and a bit of punctuation.
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Post by Johnny on Sept 16, 2020 15:58:30 GMT -5
One word used widely throughout Canada is a simple word only 2 letters long: "eh" It's a very complicated word for only 2 letters and a bit of punctuation.
I've heard the question pronunciation of "eh" but neither of the other two. When people immigrate from various parts of the world, new words and pronunciations enter the spoken language. Any idea as to the origin of "eh" in Canada?
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Post by Easton on Sept 16, 2020 17:45:22 GMT -5
^ Yes, I do. It began with the military after WWII and expanded from there.
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Post by Easton on Sept 18, 2020 8:16:00 GMT -5
You don't get owt for nowt.
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