We're now on the 23th week of Untranslatable Words and for this occassion we'll be talking not about a foreign laguage word but instead about a very special expression whithin the very English language, again suggested by our readers. We're now going very North and moving to Canada! This week's word is one that once again demonstrates how language is just a replication of its speakers and their cullture.
This week's word is the Canadian expression: eh.
Eh
It was a bit hard to pick up on what this expression means, even though I read some grammar/linguistic explanations of it and some examples of usage, it was after reading the Atlas Obscura article about it (one of my fav sites) where they very extensively comprised what this word refers to, that I finally got its meaning.
According to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, an usage of eh that is distinct to Canada and some regions of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, northern Wisconsin, and northern Minnesota, is for "ascertaining the comprehension, continued interest, agreement, etc., of the person or persons addressed" as in, "It's four kilometres away, eh, so I have to go by bike." *
After reading this Wikipedia explanation I wasn't able to get it completely, I tried to compare it to some other similar expression this word is usually compared with but I knew there was something else I still wasn't grasping that wouldn't allow me to understand this expression and its usage. Wikipedia says this is a spoken interjection used in many varieties of English that is similar in meaning to "Excuse me?," "Please repeat that", or "Huh?". It is also commonly used as an alternative to the question tag right?, i.e., method for inciting a reply, as in "It's nice here, eh?" (instead of "It's nice here, right?") but, as I said, it's actually much more than just that.
Eh consists mainly of an oral tic that is rarely written down, and this is probably why this expression is very difficult to study and they have relied on self-reporting, having as a result studies that are necessarily flawed, as Canadians have a tendency to underestimate their use of the word. According to Elaine Gold, the founder of the Canadian Language Museum and a recently retired lecturer at the University of Toronto who has studied “eh”, this is singularly weird as a command–she used the example of a military sergeant shouting “Forward march, eh?”, it’s a command, but emphasizes that the listeners agree with it, that somehow the decision to march has been made and agreed upon by everyone.
Also, the origin of this word isn't very clear, it’s not really known where “eh” came from, or precisely when it entered the Canadian lexicon. However, it is possible that the word came originally from some population of Scots-Irish immigrants, a major early group in Canada. Gold says that by the 1950s, the word was firmly established enough that in some articles it’s already identified as a Canadianism. The word has become emblematic of the country in a way that is now mostly out of their control and this people have embraced it, adopting it as an element of Canadian patriotism.
Photo by Adam Levine on Flickr
Eh is an invariant tag, and this in linguistics means that it's something that can be added on to the end of a sentence and it's the same everytime it's used. But, even though it's an invariant tag, this is a very flexible one as it can be used for all kind of things, something Canadians exploit very well, and perhaps this is why it became a very Canadian expression.
Canadians could use eh in some very particular ways, like when stating an opinion: "It’s a nice day, eh?", as an exclamation tag that indicates surprise: "What a game, eh?", as a command: "Put it over here, eh?", even using it whithin a criticism (very odd): "You really messed that one up, eh?", and the most unusual, the "narrative 'eh'", found during stories and following individual clauses: "So I was walking down the street, eh? And I saw a friend of mine at the store, eh? And so I thought I’d say hi, eh?"; though the usage of this last one is different from the others as it is used to indicate to listeners that the story is continuing, to make sure the listener is still listening, and to signal that the listener should not interrupt because there’s more to come.
Now, according to Jack Chambers, a linguist at the University of Toronto, “All of these uses have one pragmatic purpose in common: they all show politeness.” Thus, in my opinion, the very core use of this word is beyond asking for confirmation or reassurance, it's a way to express solidarity or evoke agreement in the listener, to find a common ground between both parties. This is a word that expresses inclusiveness and, overall I'd say, a moderating effect on strong statements. And, aren't these the typical qualities of Canadians? Couldn't we say that even though the word had a not very known origin, in Canada it transformed into a more versatile interjection because Canadians themselves increased the canadianness of the word? In short, isn't it a way to show the expression is a reflection of the Canadian tipicity and therefore their culture?
There's this idea of the word being associated to the Canadian stereotype that they’re polite to a fault, like when they would make a strong statement, and then by adding this interjection at the end they undermine it a little because they want to be friendly and inclusive. Even though a significant part of the population would never use the word and taking into consideration Canada is a very large and varied country, as Gold says "It’s really come to mean Canadian identity, especially in print." Canadians have ended up reclaiming the word for themselves, even those Canadians who don’t actually use it very often. I find this word really interesting and I do think all of this happened because it tells a lot about their idiosyncrasy.
What do you think? Do you think eh shows Canadians typical politeness? Do you think they're too stereotyped? Please feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!
Thank you very much for passing by! And if you have an Untranslatable Word you'd like to suggest, please don't hesitate to do so! :)
Previous Untranslatable Words:
#1: Torschlusspanik
#2: Mono no aware
#3: Rasāsvāda
#4: Cavoli riscaldati
#5: Nefelibata
#6: Sturmfrei
#7: Jootha
#8: bilita mpash
#9: resfeber
#10: Vāde mēcum
#11: sankofa
#12: annus mirabilis
#13: voorpret
#14: pikit mata
#15: ranorànilac
#16: gagung
#17: gumusservi
#18: yaourter
#19: nunchi
#20: flâneur - the aesthetic experience of wandering through the city
#21: xibipíío - how the Pirahã deconverted a Christian man
#22: aduantas - rambling between two nuances
