Eh Walter Popular Books

Eh Walter Biography & Facts

Eh ( or ) is a spoken interjection used in many varieties of English. The oldest Oxford English Dictionary defines eh as an "interjectional interrogative particle often inviting assent to the sentiment expressed." Today, while eh has many different uses, it is most popularly used in a manner similar in meaning to "Excuse me?", "Please repeat that", "Huh?", or to otherwise mark a question. It is also commonly used as an alternative to the question tag "right?", as a method for inciting a reply, as in "Don't you think?", "You agree with me, right?", as in, "It's nice here, eh?" (instead of "It's nice here, right?"). In the Americas, it is most commonly associated with Canada and Canadian English, though it is also common in England, Scotland, and New Zealand. It is also known in some American regions bordering Canada, including the area stretching from northern Wisconsin up to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Similar interjections exist in many other languages, such as Azerbaijani and Italian.The spelling of this sound in English is quite different from the common usage of these letters. The vowel is sounded in one of the continental manners (as in French, only missing the apostrophe), and the letter h is used to indicate it is long, as though the origin of the spelling were German. While evidence suggests that eh initially may have been considered as an onomatopoeic sound, the earliest uses of eh found so far, date back to Early Modern English in 1662, but first mentions of it are found in Middle English. In 1707, it was first used in a play, functioning "to create or confirm agreement." Later, in 1773, its earliest quotation, s.v. "eh" was in a play by Irish playwright Oliver Goldsmith.It can also convey a lack of strong emotion and a neutral response. For example, if when asked how a movie was one replies with "Eh," this indicates that they did not find it particularly great or terrible. In this example, eh is used as a way to convey a middle-ground feeling or invite further discussion. English United States Eh is also used in situations to describe something bad or mediocre. In which, it is often pronounced with a short "e" sound and the "h" may even be noticeable. Eh also has the same pronunciation as æ. It is quite prevalent in the New York area to use the term "ey" as a general substitute for such basic greetings, such as "hey" or "hello".In the Upper Midwest, it is used to end sentences. Canada History The first clear evidence of eh's usage in Canada was in 1836, through the writings of Thomas Chandler Haliburton, a Nova-Scotian district judge and comical writer. Eh was first recognized as being a marker of being Canadian in 1959 by Harold B. Allen; he stated that eh is "so exclusively a Canadian feature that immigration officials use it as an identifying clue." However, despite mainly being perceived as a stereotypical marker of Canadian identity, eh was not recognized initially as a Canadianism in the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles (DCHP-1). Chief editor of the DCHP-1, Walter Avis, argued that it should not be included due to its historical use in British English and its frequency in American, Australian, and New Zealand English. However, despite eh's origins, it has become more frequently used in Canada than in the UK and the US, and in a broader variety of contexts. Due to this frequency, it has since been included in the DCHP-2 as a Preservation of British English that is Culturally Significant. Uses According to the DCHP-2, there are five main uses of eh with four subtypes. The first is used to elicit confirmation (1a), which can be used in sentences like "So that's what he thinks, eh?" A subtype of this use is to elicit acknowledgement (1b). This applies to the acknowledgment of a fact in contrast to belief or opinion. For example, one could say "I have a new dog, eh?" The second subtype (1c) is to confirm agreement. This is used to increase the chance of acceptance of a suggestion, toning down statements. The fourth, (1d), is used as an exclamative over a shared experience, for example "What a great game, eh?" The final (1e) is to confirm compliance, like asking "Will you?" The belief is that this tones down a command or request.The second main use of eh is as an expression of disbelief to express one's surprise over the offered information (2). Use 3 is to elicit repetition, and is referred to as the "Pardon eh." It is used synonymously with "I beg your pardon?" in the sense of asking for a repetition of what was said. The fourth use is a distinctly Canadian use, identified as the narrative eh. It is a rarer form, and is claimed to be found primarily in oral evidence of Canadian origin. The final use of eh is as a metalinguistic commentary to express a link with Canada or rural Canada (5). This form is commentary on the Canadian status of eh and has contributed its share to the registration of eh and commodification of the form in association with Canada. A popular example of its use is in the phrase "How's it goin', eh?"Due to English and French being Canada's official languages, the popularity of eh's usage in Canada is believed to be influenced by French. The French Canadian hein sounds similar to a nasalized Canadian eh, and the two share similar functions. Due to this, the increased use of eh in Canada may have been influenced by the frequent use of hein in Canadian French.The term is used most frequently among blue-collar workers, and the most popular form used is for opinions and exclamations. While there is a prevalent stereotype that men use eh more than women, survey results suggest similar use frequencies. Overall, between both men and women, the pardon-eh is used much less than the observation-eh. The most positively viewed usage of eh is the imperative "I know, eh?" form with the exclamation-eh and opinion-eh close behind. The most negatively viewed usage is the anecdotal, narrative-eh. This perception is due to opinions surrounding the speakers of the narrative-eh, who are categorized as uneducated, lower-class, rural, and male, akin to the McKenzie brothers from the comedy sketch "Great White North," which first appeared during Second City Television's (SCTV) third season.Regionally, while usage is similar across the ten provinces, with the use of eh not having changed significantly over the past 25 years, there is some variation. For example, in Quebec, respondents use eh for 'pardon' more than other Canadians. While usage has not changed significantly across Canada, the overall frequency of eh has declined among speakers born in the 1960s or later. This decrease has been prevalent in big cities such as Vancouver and Toronto. Despite this decline, there have been high recognition rates and uptake of the Canadian eh among immigrant populations. Iconography Eh has gained such recognition among Canadians that it is used consciously and frequently by newspaper journalists and others in informal articles and reports. Al.... Discover the Eh Walter popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Eh Walter books.

Best Seller Eh Walter Books of 2024

  • Snowbound synopsis, comments

    Snowbound

    EH Walter

    Can society survive the end of the world? Seventeen year old Lara is about to find out.Seventeen year old Londoner Lara moves with her writer father to Wisconsin for a year. Wiscon...

  • Paranormal Investigations synopsis, comments

    Paranormal Investigations

    EH Walter

    Leo Fey runs 'Paranormal Investigations', the problem is Leo doesn't believe in the paranormal and spends most of her time spying on spouses. Then, as her twenty fifth birthday dra...

  • The Reed Bed synopsis, comments

    The Reed Bed

    EH Walter

    Tom is working on the last day of the reed cutting season when he realises he is being watched. A young lady, his social better, is looking at him as no wellborn young miss should ...