To throw another "fact" into the mix: Canadians aren't the only ones to use "eh"
(and perhaps that's Ian's point)--folks from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan do
as well, for example.
Graham
Ian Pringle wrote:
> I don't have time to look up the references, but there is an article, well
> known amongst Canadian dialectologists, entitled "So you think 'eh' is
> Canadian, eh?" by Walter S. Avis published in the Canadian Journal of
> Linguistics in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Avis's entry s.v. eh in the
> Gage Canadian Dictionary might also provide some information.
>
> Catherine F. Schryer writes:
> >
> > Myth has it that it is a remnant of the French "hein?"
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Saturday, January 19, 2002 5:52 PM
> > Subject: Eh?
> >
> >
> > > Dear CASLLers
> > >
> > > This week I was asked about the origin/background for the ubiquitous
> > > Canadian "eh." Can anyone on this list help me out?
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > Henry Hubert
> > >
> > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > Henry A. Hubert, Ph.D.
> > > Dean of Arts
> > >
> > > University College of the Cariboo | Phone: 250-828-5236
> > > P.O. Box 3010 | FAX: 250-371-5510
> > > Kamloops, B. C. | E-mail: [log in to unmask]
> > > V2C 5N3
> > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
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>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Ian Pringle
> Director, School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies
> Carleton University
> Ottawa, Ontario
> Canada K1S 5B6
> Tel (+1 613) 520-6612. Fax (+1 613) 520-6641
> Email address: [log in to unmask]
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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--
**************************
Graham Smart
Assistant Professor
Department of English
324 Heavilon Hall
Purdue University
West Lafayette
Indiana 47907
Office phone: (765) 494-3773
Home phone: (765) 583-0674
mailto:[log in to unmask]
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