Eh. Huh?

I hear it every day. When we lived in California we used to get asked about it, even though we were careful not to use it. It's an accepted part of life in Canada.

Eh?

What is it about that particular phoneme that symbolizes so much about Canadians? And why does nearly everyone, educated or not; brown or tan or pinky white; young or old, say that particular syllable?

eh?

Don't know. I don't know why people just south of the border into America don't say it, but people on the Northerly side all seem to. Maybe it just resounds in my ear because I didn't hear it (barring trips back to Canada) for ten years.

All I know is that, increasingly, and somewhat without my permission, I hear it passing my own lips. I hear what sounds amazingly like my OWN voice say it at the end of sentences, or when I am looking to change a statement into a question with one easy syllable.

Americans sometimes mock "eh" as a symbol of the beery "dumb Canadian" they see on TV. Just as Canadians mock Americans for what they perceive to be true from exposure to the media, they're wrong. "Eh" is not a sound of ignorance or lack of understanding. Instead, I have come to see "eh" as a particularly Canadian punctuation mark. It's a polite sound that symbolizes our desire to be understood. "Wow, those oil prices, eh?" "You're working on your PhD, eh?" "You'll bring the bean dip, eh?" It's a syllable that implies agreement, reconciliation and a hope for unity and peaceful discussion. Very noble Canadian attitudes, all.

Americans have several words that they use for the same purpose. "Huh" "Yeah" "Hey" Whatever, they all end up sprinkled throughout conversations like salt.

I'll go ahead and use it. Hopefully I can control my participation in the great "eh" campaign to a few "ehs" now and then. Like salt, "eh" is best used sparingly to add flavour. I like it. It sounds like home, eh?