This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Susan Davis: Sorry for stepping on the header quote, but I think this one is a little pithier, eh?
Seth: I agree, but i want to put the old quote back in somewhere. I'm going to put it back in with the examples.
Pteryx: It's worth noting that in my experience, the "eh?" thing actually happens — not to the degree that you see in parodies like this or even in many straight portrayals of this trope, but more than Canadians seem to notice.
HeartBurn Kid: I have to agree. Back when I used to take customer service calls, I got quite a few Canadians who really did say "aboot" and end every sentence with "eh". Not all of them, mind, but a sizeable enough chunk that it left a good impression on me. And considering I was taking calls for elite members of a hotel's frequent traveler program, these are the more worldly ones I was talking to.
gumby_jd: A real (Anglo) Canadian here. Never once heard 'aboot', even on TV from central or Western Canada, except in parodies or someone attempting to mock us. Maybe it's some backwoods accent that comes nowhere near the cities (yes, we do have a few :)? The 'eh?' thing is true, though, especially with the meaning of "Don't you agree?" - "Wayne Gretzky was awesome, eh?", for example - and "Huh?".
Te Chameleon: Another actual Canadian weighing in- to a certain degree, we (or at least I did...) bring the whole 'eh' thing on ourselves- while I was living overseas, I found myself in the habit of tacking on 'eh', more or less at random, to a lot of my sentences... apparently in a subconscious attempt at shorthand for "No, I'm not American."
Dark Soldier: I find that "eh?" works as the all-purpose Canadian interrogative, meaning anything from "Do you agree?" to "Could you repeat what you just said?"
- The Canadian stereotype sounds like an exaggeration of Maritime culture.
Andygal: I've been known to say "eh?" on occasion, like "How do you like the weather, eh?", or "That was great, eh?" It does get used, just not at the end of every sentence. I've never heard "aboot" used seriously, although because of the stereotype people sometimes use it as a joke, I'm of the opinion that that little stereotype stems from the fact that many Canadians (including me) pronounce "route" as "root". I should mention that I'm an urban dweller, maybe "aboot" pops up in some rural areas somewhere?
Filby: I'm taking out at least one of the quotes, since they take up half the screen. If someone wants to add them back in, go ahead and add them as examples.
Plot Creeper: I think you should edit that bit about Minnesota: We ARE all obsessed with hockey.
Shoebox: *grin* Done. I was wondering about that...
Dark Insanity 13: Um, the example about Canada's "The Reason You Suck" Speech from Axis Powers Hetalia didn't actually have him ending with "...And you're always eating hamburgers!", or at least not in the version I have. For one thing, it was in the middle of the argument (though about when America stopped fighting back in amazement), and for another, he didn't actually finish the speech. England interjected midway through, suggesting he likely would have kept going for another few hours. Wasn't sure if I should change it because for all I know, the version I have is different from someone else's.
