EH IS CANADIAN, EH?: USAGE, FUNCTIONS AND THE IDENTITY CRISIS OF EH

By Kailin Wright

copyright 2006

We have all heard of the interjection “eh” as in “I am Canadian, eh?” but what does it really mean and is it uniquely Canadian?  Linguists debate over whether eh is peculiar to Canada.  The 1970s saw a handful of essays on eh as a Canadian interjection.  More recently, linguists such as Gaelan De Wolf and Howard B. Woods surveyed the use of eh in Vancouver and Ottawa, respectively.  In 2004, Elaine Gold published a survey on Canadian uses of and attitudes toward eh.  Using these surveys, evidence found in dictionaries, and critical essays, I will build on the argument that eh is uniquely Canadian.  Eh is a Canadianism because of the many different functions of eh in Canada and because of the frequency of use.  While eh only has two main constructions in England (as a request for repetition and as a tag), there are ten popular functions of eh in Canada.  Canadian literature uses eh more than any other national literature and certain types of eh are only found in Canadian texts and speech.  The interjection is also internationally recognized as Canadian.

(Excerpt obtained from web link bellow, University of Toronto;

http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~cpercy/courses/6362-wright.htm)