A rchive Date
[ 27-02-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Canada ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/brady.html
There's more to Canada than words, eh?
By BILL BRADY - For the London Free Press
February 27, 2003
On a recent trip to the United States, very early in a conversation with an American chap, I was identified as a Canadian.
One syllable gave me away - I allegedly said "eh."
"What part of Canada do you hail from?" he asked smugly.
He seemed pleased with himself, having caught me in the act of beaver-speak. I muttered something about living "in a city half way between Toronto and Detroit." He seemed to know where Detroit was but wasn't quite sure about Toronto.
Research fails to tell us how long we as a nation have used "eh," nor can I discover how it all began. Some scholars believe Sir John A. Macdonald may have uttered it in the House of Commons. Others think it was earlier, when Jacques Cartier addressed a coureur des bois, "Avez-vous un Joe Louis? J'ai faim, eh?"
I suspect this uniquely Canadian colloquialism is omitted from Hansard, the transcribers of parliamentary debate having been discreetly instructed to ignore it.
In the old days, diplomats were chastised if caught using "the word." It was rumoured that a certain minister of external affairs was heard to say, during a high-level meeting in Europe, "Monsieur le Presidente, with respect, sir, Canada is not in violation of the treaty, though your country may well be, eh?"
I was surprised many years ago, interviewing Pierre Trudeau, to hear him say 'eh' often while shrugging. He was charming and co-operative and I liked him a lot better than his smarmy staff.
I don't think I've heard our incumbent prime minister use the idiom, though I may have missed it because I don't tend to listen to him too attentively these days. Perhaps he will let it slip in soon, when he announces, "I have misjudged the will of my caucus and my fellow Canadians, eh, and will step down Tuesday."
All this got me thinking about the conversational inanities that crop up in ordinary speech. Some examples:
* "I'm gonna tell you the truth," or a variation, "Let me be perfectly honest with you." Does that mean, "Until now I have been lying, you really can't believe much of what I've said"?
* "I think he's basically honest." Translation: "He's a crook but hasn't been caught."
* "Look, I don't want to tell you what to do, but . . . ." This means, "You are unable to deal with this problem so I'm going to reveal the solution."
* "I wouldn't say this to anyone else," or, "That's what friends are for." Meaning: "Nobody else I know has screwed up as much as you and I am the only person you know who has the temerity to let you know, so listen to me and you may stop being such a loser."
* "You haven't changed a bit." Translation: "What happened to all your hair?"
See you next week, eh?
Bill Brady is secretary of the Blackburn Group Inc. His column appears Thursdays.
Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@lfpress.com.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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