Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Thewhiteyalbum]

NZer's and Canadian's say 'eh'. Australians tend to say 'but'. (it was good, but.) Americans say 'huh'. It's just a way getting someone to agree with you in a nice way. Every culture uses a form of this, so what's the big deal?

[sojourner1]

OP, you're are so highly intelligent to have written this. I think you answered your formulated argument at the end of your post. Excellent writing.

Subconscious insecurity. It's just the conservative modest element of Canadian and North USA culture ingrained in people's minds on how to think and act. Culture is so complex as it programs people how to behave on a subconscious level. No one in the world plans, designs, and thinks about this for a people to subconsciously behave the way they do, it just comes that way out of how the people are molded by their environment, genetics, family, socio economic status, race, government, laws, geographic location, food, and the list goes on and on for the input variables into the indescribable equation that makes people what they are.

There are always exceptions where individuals naturally don't conform or emulate the culture so they are usually loner outcasts excluded from popular social circles, informally. This is where the old saying, "You can't generalize and stereotype them," comes from. Since I don't act like that, I didn't get along or was liked by most northern people who talk like that. This insecurity thing is where so much rudeness and fights occur between individual Canadians and Americans. As we know, not all people are a certain way that you might think they are or expect them to be. Yes, there are friendly confident Canadians who get along well with Americans.

[RACETRAITOR]

[roknroll]

[Gaber]

I've thought about it a bit, and we (New Zealanders) definitely use 'ay', which sounds practically identical to the Canadian 'eh', a lot. It's frequently associated with Maori of Pacific Islanders speech, but it's used right across younger society. Not quite as commonly as Canadians use 'eh', but it's there and has very similar connotations.

[Tater]

[RACETRAITOR]

[blurgalurgalurga]

The Bob and Doug McKenzie accent is pretty silly, but I prefer that to the fake American one I often hear from young Canadians; the "yo, I got no love f'that sh*t, f'real, yo...word, homes" one.
I have a totally stupid accent myself, I'll admit, but accents are like poop; your own isn't anywhere near as offensive as somebody else's.

[Tiger Beer]

[jajdude]

Yeah, it wasn't common in Newfoundland and I cannot think of anyone who used it regularly there, but after a long time in Asia I use it sometimes now, mainly just when talking to white people. Grandpa Simpson says it a lot too. It's just called fitting in and conforming. Sometimes it can sound like a good quick way to ask something.

[joshuahirtle27]

[tomwaits]

BRIT

Oi--bollocks pizza, innit?

TEEN CANADIAN

You bess not dissin' ma pizza, a'ight.

[RACETRAITOR]

[Pligganease]

[WoBW]

I always think 'eh?' is simply an abbreviated tag question, such as when you want to elicit the other person's opinion. Doesn't mean you care if they agree or not.

Us Brits will often say things like:

"Tell you what mate, it's bastard freezing today, isn't it? (innit?)"

or,

"That was a shite movie, wasn't it?"

To me, 'eh?' is the same as a question tag - just a 'one size fits all' lazy version. No insecurity there, just eliciting a response.