Interrogative sentence conclusion.

[Oscar]

The word is spelled "eh" people...

Main Entry: eh
Pronunciation: \ā, 'e,'a, also with h preceding and/or with nasalization\
Function: interjection
Etymology: Middle English ey
Date: 13th century
—used to ask for confirmation or repetition or to express inquiry ; used especially in Canadian English in anticipation of the listener's or reader's agreement.


Aye, on the other hand, is a positive vote or an affirmative answer, so let's get it right, eh?

[vifferman]

Fairy Nuff.
But "sentance" is spelled "sentence", Dude. :Pokey:
And "spelt" is spelled "spelled", unless you're talking about spelt (which is a grain, like wheat).

You need to brush up your curmudgeonly skills, Sir!

[Oscar]

Fairy Nuff.
But "sentance" is spelled "sentence", Dude. :Pokey:
And "spelt" is spelled "spelled", unless you're talking about spelt (which is a grain, like wheat).

Jeez, you were quick - I changed "sentence" immediately on posting.
"Spelt" on the other hand, I missed, eh?

[Hitcher]

And "spelt" is spelled "spelled", unless you're talking about spelt (which is a grain, like wheat).

Nonsense. "Spelled" means rested, retired. One comes from the "spelt" school. Either form is acceptable.

And the BDOTGNZA applauds the interrogative campaign, eh!

[Hitcher]

"Spelt" on the other hand, I missed, eh?
No. Don't take a backwards step on that score, eh.

[martybabe]

Aye, I fail to disagree, eh.

[Oscar]

No. Don't take a backwards step on that score, eh.

On reflection, I think I use both.
However, being a how I am English, whichever I use is correct.
It is my language after all and you colonials are only using it until you master Te Reo, eh?.

Actually I think I might take a leaf from those helpful Maori chaps and start correcting all and sundry on pronunciation of the Mother Tongue...

[Big Dave]

EH is a Holden, hey.

[klingon]

It's called a "tag declarative" where I come from.
We use it uniquely in New Zealand (not to be confused with the Canadian version).

And yes, it's definitely "eh" not "aye"

[xwhatsit]

It's called a "tag declarative" where I come from.
We use it uniquely in New Zealand (not to be confused with the Canadian version).

And yes, it's definitely "eh" not "aye"
Would you care to spell out the differences in usage for us? I'm doing Linguistics 100 to make up points :innocent:

[vifferman]

Nonsense. "Spelled" means rested, retired. One comes from the "spelt" school. Either form is acceptable.
Criminy.
Your curmudgeonly standards are slipping too - your Mrkn vacation must've made you less of a pedantrist than you used to was.

[Oscar]

Would you care to spell out the differences in usage for us? I'm doing Linguistics 100 to make up points :innocent:

No problem.

Obviously the Canucks get a bit wound up about it...


EH IS CANADIAN, EH?:

USAGE, FUNCTIONS AND THE IDENTITY CRISIS OF EH
By Kailin Wright
copyright 2006

We have all heard of the interjection “eh” as in “I am Canadian, eh?” but what does it really mean and is it uniquely Canadian? Linguists debate over whether eh is peculiar to Canada. The 1970s saw a handful of essays on eh as a Canadian interjection. More recently, linguists such as Gaelan De Wolf and Howard B. Woods surveyed the use of eh in Vancouver and Ottawa, respectively. In 2004, Elaine Gold published a survey on Canadian uses of and attitudes toward eh. Using these surveys, evidence found in dictionaries, and critical essays, I will build on the argument that eh is uniquely Canadian. Eh is a Canadianism because of the many different functions of eh in Canada and because of the frequency of use. While eh only has two main constructions in England (as a request for repetition and as a tag), there are ten popular functions of eh in Canada. Canadian literature uses eh more than any other national literature and certain types of eh are only found in Canadian texts and speech. The interjection is also internationally recognized as Canadian. I will review surveys of contemporary Canadian usage in order to analyze what eh means, who uses it, how people use it, and the general attitudes toward the different constructions of eh.

Historical Context

While the scholarly debate centers on whether eh is a Canadian expression, critics often gloss over the history of the interjection. The Modern English eh derives from Middle English interjections such as “ey,” “ei,” and “a” (“Eh,” OED). The modern spelling “eh,” could have developed independently from the Middle English variants, however, it was most likely adopted from the French “eh” (“Eh,” OED). The use of eh as a demand for repetition compares with Chaucer’s use of “I” in Troilus and Criseyde (1385): “For love of God, make of this thing an ende, / Or slee us both at ones er that ye wende . . . ‘I, what?’ quod she. ‘By God and by my trouthe, / I noot not what ye wilne that I saye” (III). By the 18th Century eh was in use as an interjectional interrogative particle and in 1771 Goldsmith writes, “Wasn’t it lucky, eh?” (“Eh,” OED 2). Eh as a request for repetition such as “Eh? What’s that, Sackville?” appears by the 19th Century (“Eh,” OED 3). This history reveals that eh has its roots in Middle English and did not originate in Canada.




Full text:
http://http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~cpercy/courses/6362-wright.htm

[Oscar]

A quick look on the interweb would suggest that both are used by the English, but the latter is considered incorrect in the USA.

[The Pastor]

Aye whats all this then?

[Ixion]

The word is spelled "eh" people...

Main Entry: eh
Pronunciation: \ā, 'e,'a, also with h preceding and/or with nasalization\
Function: interjection
Etymology: Middle English ey
Date: 13th century
—used to ask for confirmation or repetition or to express inquiry ; used especially in Canadian English in anticipation of the listener's or reader's agreement.


Aye, on the other hand, is a positive vote or an affirmative answer, so let's get it right, eh?

Pah. Pfff. That may be all well and good for Canadians, they are strange anyway, it is the effect of being buried under ice and snow for 11 months of the year.

But in Godzone, eh and aye are cognate. Eh is the conditional interrogative, seeking affirmation of a suggestion. Aye is the affirmative.

As in

"Bugger me, but I'm drier than an abo's arsehole. What say we knock off for a quick one , eh?"

"Aye , I'm all for that. "

[Oscar]

Pah. Pfff. That may be all well and good for Canadians, they are strange anyway, it is the effect of being buried under ice and snow for 11 months of the year.

But in Godzone, eh and aye are cognate. Eh is the conditional interrogative, seeking affirmation of a suggestion. Aye is the affirmative.

As in

"Bugger me, but I'm drier than an abo's arsehole. What say we knock off for a quick one , eh?"

"Aye , I'm all for that. "

You seem somewhat confused...your examples agree with my post.
Notwithstanding that, "eh" and "aye" as you use them are completely different words with very different pronunciation.

My point has nowt to do with Canucks - it goes to people using "aye" spelling where they mean actually "eh".

[avgas]

your not in Guatemala anymore Dr Ropata!

[gijoe1313]

Arrr Aye aye me hearties, shiver me timbers eh? It's an aye for an aye, but we all see eye to eye on that ho ho! It's a fair wind that blows to Jamaica, where I left me girl in Kingston town, but I'm sad ta' say, I'm on my way, won't be back for many a day ...

I reckon its all needle nardle noo anyhow eh, but then its all aye and nay for ever eh?

[Oscar]

Arrr Aye aye me hearties, shiver me timbers eh? It's an aye for an aye, but we all see eye to eye on that ho ho! It's a fair wind that blows to Jamaica, where I left me girl in Kingston town, but I'm sad ta' say, I'm on my way, won't be back for many a day ...

I reckon its all needle nardle noo anyhow eh, but then its all aye and nay for ever eh?


Aye aye Skipper!
Avast our arguing and splice the mainbrace!

[martybabe]

We use it uniquely in New Zealand


Not strictly true I'm afraid, It was and is, in common use in the British Channel Isles. It has been tediously tagged on the end of almost every sentence spoken there, since before Canada and New Zealand were colonised by the British.

Before Becoming Part of the British Islands, the channel Islanders spoke French, then their own language, a mixture of French and English, Then finally, English. This would tie in with the text above in that, it is, in all probability, Derived from The French Language eh.

i.e. We surrender eh?

[jrandom]

One comes from the "spelt" school.

's a fuckin' cereal and that's all there is to it.


And the BDOTGNZA applauds the interrogative campaign, eh!

'Eh' is interrogative, 'aye' is an affirmation of expected concord in the listener.

I agree with Ixion in tentatively supporting the emerging Antipodean use of 'aye' as a generic terminator of statements in the Canadian manner; I write it thus myself.

[Oscar]

I agree with Ixion in tentatively supporting the emerging Antipodean use of 'aye' as a generic terminator of statements in the Canadian manner; I write it thus myself.

Interesting.

How would you pronounce it?

a' or eye (as in "aye aye, Captain")?

[jrandom]

Interesting.
How would you pronounce it?

a' or eye (as in "aye aye, Captain")?

a', like the Urban Maoris do. Not 'eye' as in "aye aye, Cap'n".

'Aye' is just a convenient spelling.

Welcome to the English language, ladies and gentlemen; please leave your sanity at the door.

[Oscar]

a', like the Urban Maoris do. Not 'eye' as in "aye aye, Cap'n".

'Aye' is just a convenient spelling.

Welcome to the English language, ladies and gentlemen; please leave your sanity at the door.

Yeah, I've heard that word used by Maori.
It's very similar (but not identical) in usage and pronunciation to the English "eh".
I wonder how it's spelled/spelt in te Reo?

[jrandom]

It's very similar (but not identical) in usage and pronunciation to the English "eh".

Hence why, when using it in Ngati WINZ fashion, I acknowledge that by spelling it differently.


I wonder how it's spelled/spelt in te Reo?

I think it's one of those 'crossover' words, deserving of a dictionary entry in both languages. Te Reo not being a written language (outside of the last 150 years or so), I guess you could spell it with whatever Roman characters took your phonetic fancy.

:)

[Big Dave]

I had one. Wagon. Beige with a white roof. Had Torana chromies and a 192 long engine.

[Patrick]

So what about "ay" then... eh??

[Oscar]

So what about "ay" then... eh??

The problem is that "ay" or "aye" is correctly pronounced "eye", and means an answer in the affirmative..

The word we are discussing, an interrogative at the end of a sentence (in Maori or English) is "eh".

[xwhatsit]

a', like the Urban Maoris do. Not 'eye' as in "aye aye, Cap'n".

'Aye' is just a convenient spelling.
Nah, that's fucked. Pick another spelling. `Aye' is already another word with another pronunciation.

[jrandom]

`Aye' is already another word with another pronunciation.

Tell that to 'bow' and 'bow', 'buffet' and 'buffet', 'sake' and 'sake'...

[Ocean1]

'Aye' is just a convenient spelling.

I first came across that quite recently, American gangsta context.

I've seen it used incorrectly in so many contexts since it gives me the shits.

I grew up with "Aye" = affermative, so I'll stick with that.

Besides, gangstaspeak? frayed knot...

[Forest]

Hay is for horses, not for people.

[Big Dave]

Tell that to 'bow' and 'bow', 'buffet' and 'buffet', 'sake' and 'sake'...

Well i'll just hom on im here.

As long as there are no hom o phones we'll be suite.

[Hitcher]

I agree with Ixion in tentatively supporting the emerging Antipodean use of 'aye' as a generic terminator of statements in the Canadian manner; I write it thus myself.

This issue here is the pronunciation/spelling, eh. If the two were pronounced the same way, you may have a point. They're not, eh.

[Oscar]

This issue here is the pronunciation/spelling, eh. If the two were pronounced the same way, you may have a point. They're not, eh.

Aye Lad, that's the problem, eh?

[gijoe1313]

If the plural of mouse is mice, then the logic of house as hice follows! "That be a nice row of hice there!" we could always table that logic on a table and table the results for a meeting. Oh look, a canoe ... what, no clue?

[Big Dave]

Only parts of the Antipodes are thus afflicted. Hey.

[vifferman]

Only parts of the Antipodes are thus afflicted. Hey.
Yeah, the Podes are quite well, huh?

[ManDownUnder]

Jeezus - thats it. I'm sticking to "wot?" for questions, and "coz I said so" for confirmation - "coz I said so"!

[vifferman]

Jeezus - thats it. I'm sticking to "wot?" for questions, and "coz I said so" for confirmation - "coz I said so"!
Just "Coz!" would do.

[avgas]

wye mn see

[Badjelly]

The word we are discussing, an interrogative at the end of a sentence (in Maori or English) is "eh".

I'm not convinced it is normally used in New Zealand in an interrogative sense. When people say it, they tend to keep the tone flat, rather than lifting is as you would if you were asking a question. I agree the best spelling is "eh", though this suggests (to me) a somewhat shorter vowel than is used in NZ.

Yeah nah.

[Oscar]

I'm not convinced it is normally used in New Zealand in an interrogative sense. When people say it, they tend to keep the tone flat, rather than lifting is as you would if you were asking a question. I agree the best spelling is "eh", though this suggests (to me) a somewhat shorter vowel than is used in NZ.

Yeah nah.

The Canucks use it with an rising inflection*, and it's definitely an interrogative.
"What do you think of Ice Hockey, eh?"

Whereas some Kiwis use it in that fashion, I agree it is mostly used as a declarative ending.

*The rising inflection at the end of sentence (which is particularly bad in Sydney), has crossed the Tasman, and is fucking annoying in my humble opinion.

[xwhatsit]

Tell that to 'bow' and 'bow', 'buffet' and 'buffet', 'sake' and 'sake'...
Well if you want to use that argument, why not keep it as `eh' and `eh' then :niceone:

Not quite the same thing, but the general case of English spelling confusion is still there.

[Badjelly]

The Canucks use it with an rising inflection*, and it's definitely an interrogative.

Yeah, they do, eh.

[Big Dave]

*The rising inflection at the end of sentence (which is particularly bad in Sydney), has crossed the Tasman, and is fucking annoying in my humble opinion.

It's worse the further north you go, hey.

A Westie/Shazza/Bogon accent is trans-tasman.

[Oscar]

It's worse the further north you go, hey.

A Westie/Shazza/Bogon accent is trans-tasman.

There's a book by Melvyn Bragg, I think it's called The Story of English, where he quotes Aussie Academics that traces the rising inflection to the western suburbs of Sydney.

[Big Dave]

There's a book by Melvyn Bragg, I think it's called The Story of English, where he quotes Aussie Academics that traces the rising inflection to the western suburbs of Sydney.

If you call 'Kylie Mole' an academic I suppose.

[Oscar]

If you call 'Kylie Mole' an academic I suppose.

She is.....by Australian standards....:shifty:

[Hitcher]

Yeah, no, yeah.

[Big Dave]

You are so spak.

[klingon]

Well that's settled then, innit.

[Motu]

*The rising inflection at the end of sentence (which is particularly bad in Sydney), has crossed the Tasman, and is fucking annoying in my humble opinion.

And very much a school girl thing.I'm interested in pursuing this further - where abouts in Hamilton is this annoying habit most common in your experience?

[Oscar]

And very much a school girl thing.I'm interested in pursuing this further - where abouts in Hamilton is this annoying habit most common in your experience?

I don't live in Hamilton.

[Big Dave]

I don't live in Hamilton.

Does anyone?

[vifferman]

Does anyone?
I used to, but haven't visited for a very long while, so I can't verify this.
Presumably someone does, apart from the Moron Stew. :confused:

[Oscar]

Does anyone?

Presumably someone that can organise a V8 race and a WRC round.

[Big Dave]

Presumably someone that can organise a V8 race and a WRC round.

That would be all those German folk I see from down there.

Actually some of those places along the banks of the Waikato are very tasty.
Sydney was the same bash with Woollongong till it got so big they joined together.