Mapping Canada
September 25, 2007 9:22 PM Subscribe
Canada at scale: Exploration, colonization and development. And a pop-up menu. Go, eh!
Good lord, no one actually says eh.
That said, the Library and Archives page from the GoC is pretty cool.
posted by arcticwoman at 9:50 PM on September 25, 2007
That said, the Library and Archives page from the GoC is pretty cool.
posted by arcticwoman at 9:50 PM on September 25, 2007
Ok, enough with the goddamn "Eh?" shit, ok, ya dumb Yanks!
I've never used the "eh?" thing, and I am Canadian.
Perhaps you'd like it if Canadians thought all Americans are as dumb as George W Bush... maybe we'd end every American reference with something moronic from Bush, such as "I'm the decider" or "Mandela's dead".
Just kidding, I love the US (I live here!) , but the "eh?" thing is annoying. I have know idea what that's all aboot.
FUCK! "About".
posted by newfers at 9:53 PM on September 25, 2007
I've never used the "eh?" thing, and I am Canadian.
Perhaps you'd like it if Canadians thought all Americans are as dumb as George W Bush... maybe we'd end every American reference with something moronic from Bush, such as "I'm the decider" or "Mandela's dead".
Just kidding, I love the US (I live here!) , but the "eh?" thing is annoying. I have know idea what that's all aboot.
FUCK! "About".
posted by newfers at 9:53 PM on September 25, 2007
Cool maps.
My favorite Canadian word related to mapmaking is "pencil crayon."
posted by salvia at 10:06 PM on September 25, 2007
My favorite Canadian word related to mapmaking is "pencil crayon."
posted by salvia at 10:06 PM on September 25, 2007
The "eh?" usage is regional in Canada, although it tends to get exagerated in the media.
posted by Gary at 10:59 PM on September 25, 2007
posted by Gary at 10:59 PM on September 25, 2007
For some reason, I find myself using eh in the States more than here at home.
But with respect to this fine post, the correct use of "eh" would be me turning to my wife and saying "Thess are some beautiful maps, eh?" To which she would respond "Yes!"
And the comment thread would thereby be re-railed.
And thanks StUH - another excellent find in your short but impressive MeFi career.
posted by salishsea at 11:39 PM on September 25, 2007
But with respect to this fine post, the correct use of "eh" would be me turning to my wife and saying "Thess are some beautiful maps, eh?" To which she would respond "Yes!"
And the comment thread would thereby be re-railed.
And thanks StUH - another excellent find in your short but impressive MeFi career.
posted by salishsea at 11:39 PM on September 25, 2007
The 2004 edition of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary states that "eh" is used most frequently by residents of Manitoba, Ontario, and New Brunswick, somewhat less frequently in Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and the three territories, and rarely if ever in Nova Scotia, Alberta and Newfoundland.
Grew up in Manitoba and have lived in Ontario and have known no one who uses it. The "a-boot" thing regarding east-coasters, however, is true.
posted by dreamsign at 11:45 PM on September 25, 2007
Grew up in Manitoba and have lived in Ontario and have known no one who uses it. The "a-boot" thing regarding east-coasters, however, is true.
posted by dreamsign at 11:45 PM on September 25, 2007
Some people do use "eh?" but never the way it's portrayed by Americans. "Eh?" is used in place of "don't you think?" and that's it.
posted by autodidact at 12:03 AM on September 26, 2007
posted by autodidact at 12:03 AM on September 26, 2007
What's got yer knickers in a twist, eh? "No one says 'eh'"? Utter bullshit. Perhaps you don't know your own country well enough to speak on this unimportant matter? It's a bit of speech used in the north woods, whichever side of the border you're on (Michigan's UP, northern Wisconsin, northern Ontario). Toronto != Canada.
posted by Goofyy at 12:10 AM on September 26, 2007
posted by Goofyy at 12:10 AM on September 26, 2007
You know who else said 'eh'?
Yes: Fonzie.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:42 AM on September 26, 2007
Yes: Fonzie.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:42 AM on September 26, 2007
yay for maps!
posted by desjardins at 5:45 AM on September 26, 2007
posted by desjardins at 5:45 AM on September 26, 2007
Yes, we do use "eh", but, as stated above, it's by way of saying, "wouldn't you agree?" So "Go, eh!" makes no sense.
I've always looked at it as a way of being polite and sociable. It's the opposite of being dogmatic, and always declaratively stating things. Canadians by & large look for consensus and compromise, and the "eh?" at the end is a small part of that, I'd like to think.
We also apologize if you stand on our feet. So sorry it got in your way there.
posted by stinkycheese at 9:20 AM on September 26, 2007
I've always looked at it as a way of being polite and sociable. It's the opposite of being dogmatic, and always declaratively stating things. Canadians by & large look for consensus and compromise, and the "eh?" at the end is a small part of that, I'd like to think.
We also apologize if you stand on our feet. So sorry it got in your way there.
posted by stinkycheese at 9:20 AM on September 26, 2007
Grew up in Manitoba and have lived in Ontario and have known no one who uses it.
Wow... did you, uh, ever leave the house during that time?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:40 AM on September 26, 2007
Wow... did you, uh, ever leave the house during that time?
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:40 AM on September 26, 2007
I say eh.
I'm from Ohio.
My wife, who is from Ontario, did not say eh with any regularity until after she met me. She hasn't forgiven me yet.
posted by the dief at 9:44 AM on September 26, 2007
I'm from Ohio.
My wife, who is from Ontario, did not say eh with any regularity until after she met me. She hasn't forgiven me yet.
posted by the dief at 9:44 AM on September 26, 2007
There's a cute working-class thing in Alberta where people say "hey." Bruce McCulloch did it for some of this characters on KITH (Bruce is from Calgary), as when Gavin says, "So you're painting a chair, hey?". I find it completely charming.
Speaking as an ex-American who's lived in Canada for 10 years now, I hereby declare that the linguistic tendency that joins Anglophone Canadians from coast to coast to coast is the way they ALL pronounce the word "sorry." "About" is a similar shibboleth but is a lot stronger among, say, Nova Scotians than BC'ers, but "sorry" is the ultimate mark of a Canadian. Soooooory.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 9:50 AM on September 26, 2007
Speaking as an ex-American who's lived in Canada for 10 years now, I hereby declare that the linguistic tendency that joins Anglophone Canadians from coast to coast to coast is the way they ALL pronounce the word "sorry." "About" is a similar shibboleth but is a lot stronger among, say, Nova Scotians than BC'ers, but "sorry" is the ultimate mark of a Canadian. Soooooory.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 9:50 AM on September 26, 2007
I love the Canadian soo-rry! Also, the Canadian a-gain-st (as opposed to my American a-gen-st). As far as the eh thing goes, it definitely varies by person, but it definitely is real.
posted by fermezporte at 10:44 AM on September 26, 2007
posted by fermezporte at 10:44 AM on September 26, 2007
No guff.
posted by stinkycheese at 5:35 PM on September 26, 2007
posted by stinkycheese at 5:35 PM on September 26, 2007
btw, in reference to the person who said that east coasters say "aboot", well, maybe some easterners do, but not us Newfies. We barely speak english at all - I'm from the St.John's area and nobody here in the US has ever commented that I have an accent of any type, yet I have relatives from all over Newfoundland with several different dialects. It's really quite fascinating, I think.
I have a peeve about how people here in Appalachian Ohio (my home since 1994) speak, as well. When I purchase something at a store, or a drive thru, for example, and I say "thank you", I HATE it when the vendor/cashier says "uh-huh", as though THAT is an appropriate response to "thank you".
Just sounds rude to me!
posted by newfers at 6:56 PM on September 26, 2007
I have a peeve about how people here in Appalachian Ohio (my home since 1994) speak, as well. When I purchase something at a store, or a drive thru, for example, and I say "thank you", I HATE it when the vendor/cashier says "uh-huh", as though THAT is an appropriate response to "thank you".
Just sounds rude to me!
posted by newfers at 6:56 PM on September 26, 2007
Everyone says "eh?"... it's just Canucks say it more frequently, eh?
posted by five fresh fish at 7:00 PM on September 26, 2007
posted by five fresh fish at 7:00 PM on September 26, 2007
So "Go, eh!" makes no sense.
I beg to differ.
The GO was because when you pull a map from the pop-up menu you have to hit the GO button to get there. The "eh" was a cultural reference.
posted by St Urbain's Horseman at 7:30 PM on September 26, 2007
I beg to differ.
The GO was because when you pull a map from the pop-up menu you have to hit the GO button to get there. The "eh" was a cultural reference.
posted by St Urbain's Horseman at 7:30 PM on September 26, 2007
Pull down, pop up...they're all just euphemisms for pulling the goalie.
(This thread now derailed worse than a CN train)
(and just to get things back on track, here is a link to map of Canadian railways)
Eh.
posted by salishsea at 8:21 PM on September 26, 2007
(This thread now derailed worse than a CN train)
(and just to get things back on track, here is a link to map of Canadian railways)
Eh.
posted by salishsea at 8:21 PM on September 26, 2007
Great link salishsea--I knew a guy who worked for CN on one of their 'emergency response teams' -- He would be on call for weeks, then summoned up to some remote crash site where he might end up staying for weeks.
posted by acro at 10:31 PM on September 26, 2007
posted by acro at 10:31 PM on September 26, 2007
Toronto != Canada
No way! And you'd think I know that, having lived in BC, NWT, AB, SK, MB, and QC. Wow, I guess you learn something new every day.
posted by arcticwoman at 10:04 AM on September 27, 2007
No way! And you'd think I know that, having lived in BC, NWT, AB, SK, MB, and QC. Wow, I guess you learn something new every day.
posted by arcticwoman at 10:04 AM on September 27, 2007
I didn't know pencil crayon is a Canadian word. I guess Americans call them colored (sic) pencils or something.
It is a good link, though. Soooorry about the derail.
posted by arcticwoman at 10:05 AM on September 27, 2007
It is a good link, though. Soooorry about the derail.
posted by arcticwoman at 10:05 AM on September 27, 2007
arcticwoman, my classmate in planning school, a Torontonian, said it all the time (and yeah, I said "what? oh, colored pencils"). But now that I hear Toronto != Canada I'm as confused as you are!
posted by salvia at 11:22 AM on September 27, 2007
posted by salvia at 11:22 AM on September 27, 2007
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