The Citizen, 2004-08-19, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2004. PAGE 5.
Other Views
Go ahead have a nice eh, eh
In his book Colombo's Canadian
References, John Robert Colombo defines
'eh?' as 'a colloquial expression meaning,
"What did you say?"'.
Mister Colombo is correct, as far as he goes
— but that's not nearly far enough. As any card-
carrying Canuck can attest, 'eh' is much more
than a monosyllabic request for repetition or
clarification. 'Eh' is the primary Lego block of
Canadian slang.
In some parts of the country, 'eh' festoons
casual conversation like blueberries on a
hillside. "So I was walkin' down the trail, eh?
And suddenly there's this moose, eh? Well,
I only got the four-ten with me, eh? So
ennyways I drops back, eh? And...."
And so on. The popular conception is that
'eh' is purest Hoserspeak, a redneck affliction
restricted to taverns, bingo halls, hockey
arenas, fish camps and other hick hangouts
where guys in plaid jackets wearing ball caps
over their mullets tend to congregate to drink
beer from the bottle and converse in
monosyllables.
Not true. I have heard the word 'eh' tumble
from the lips of professors, police officers and
politicians. The only thing the speakers had in
common was their passport.
'Eh' is nothing if not egalitarian.
Other tongues have linguistic crutches that
are something like our 'eh'. The French cobble
a 'n'est-pas' on to many of their sentences. The
Spanish throw in superfluous `si's' and
'verdad's'.
Germans often tack on a `ja.' to flesh out a
statement.
Americans fall back on 'huh' — as in "Weird
Premier Dalton McGuinty has cleared
himself of blame for his spectacular
slide in popularity — it is all the fault of
his communications staff.
The Liberal premier, who won an election
comfortably last fall, has dropped in polls
behind even the Progressive Conservatives,
who since being turfed out in disgust have
been exposed almost daily as directing
millions of dollars to personal friends while
starving public services
McGuinty has lost favour particularly
because he promised in the election to bring in
many new programs without increasing taxes,
and balance the budget, although it had
become clear the Tories would leave a huge
spending deficit that would make this
impossible. He later broke these promises.
McGuinty has started trying to recover by
shaking up his communications office, letting
go one director who was called a genius when
the Liberals won months ago and bringing in
another who will plan and co-ordinate all
communications activities in the premier's
office and throughout government.
Senior Liberals also have let it be known
anonymously the premier's communications
have been poorly co-ordinated and as a result
many worthwhile initiatives he launched have
been little noticed, because the media has
focused on his broken promises.
McGuinty's only minor admission is he may
have made too many promises because he was
ambitious for Ontarians' futures, but feels
residents will recognize he had to increase
taxes to improve programs and is touring to
persuade them personally.
McGuinty has done his best to pin blame on
his communications staff, but they did not tell
him to make his 231 promises, about a record
number in an Ontario election — their job was
to publicize them.
weather we're having, huh?"
But none of them are quite as elastic or
ubiquitous as the good ol' Canadian 'eh'.
Not that it gets any respect. The British
writer/fop Quentin Crisp was appalled when
on his first trip to Canada a Customs and
Immigration official at the Toronto airport
stamped his passport, looked up with a cheery
grin and said: "Vindicated at last, eh?"
"You're too kind," Crisp muttered
witheringly and moved on. Later he wrote
about the 'eh' phenomenon, calling it "a
species of linguistic dim-witticism to which
Canadians are addicted."
Well, how can we plead but guilty as
charged, eh? The expression is as Canadian as
back bacon, maple syrup, GST and Rocket
Richard, right?
Wrong. Turns out that the word is
cosmopolitan, cross-cultural and goes all the
way back to the-Middle Ages. It was popular
enough by 1773 for Oliver Goldsmith to use it
in his play She Stoops to Conquer.
In 1851, Herman Melville thought so highly
of what my Oxford English Dictionary grandly
defines it as the 'interjectional interrogative
particle often inviting assent to the sentiment
expressed' that he threw it into Moby Dick.
The biggeSt criticism of McGuinty is he
continued making promises knowing the
Tories would leave a huge deficit and his latest
explanation is "We knew we had been left a
mess, but we had no idea how big it would be."
But halfway through the campaign observers
including even the right-wing Fraser Institute,
which spends most of its time trying to
minimize Tories' faults, calculated they would
leave a deficit of $4.5 billion.
McGuinty knew then he would not be able to
pay for his promises without increasing taxes
and could have said so, but refused because he
feared if he appeared uncertain of keeping his
promises, he would lose the election. This was
a decision that would be made by a premier,
not his communications staff.
When he eventually increased taxes, it
became a defining moment and no efforts by
his communications staff to promote
alternative good news stories could hope to
drown it out.
McGuinty's communications staff tried hard
to get publicity for his other actions. Every
single government announcement since the
Liberals got in power has been leaked to news
media in advance.
This has meant his government got each
action reported before it was formally
announced and reported a second time when it
was announced. Governments have leaked
plans in the past, but nothing like on the scale
Eighteen times.
"But flukes! Man, what makes thee want to
go whaling, eh?"
Still, if 'eh' wasn't born in Canada, it certain
took out Canadian citizenship papers as soon
as it washed ashore. A recent survey of first-
year University of Toronto students reveals
some intriguing commonalities. Asked to
name distinctive Canadian things, the kids
cited hockey, the Maple Leaf flag, our
currency, peacekeeping, Canadian beer...
And 'eh'.
Ninety-four per cent of the university
students said they were familiar with — and
generally fond of — the expression, even
though they admitted using it was something
less than high-class.
Elaine, Gold, who conducted the survey
recalls: "One of the students' comments was
so cute. He said, 'I was kind of proud when it
slipped out of my mouth for the first time."'
"They're very aware of it and do see it as
Canadian," said Gold.
Me too. "Eh' may not be elegant but it's as
hardy as a beaver's incisor and as handy as a
Robertson screwdriver (also Canadian).
'Eh' is something you stand a very good
chance of hearing shoehorned. into any
conversation from Tuktoyaktuk to Trois
Rivieres; from the Queen Charlottes to Come
By Chance.
And if you're a Canadian who considers that
fact to be bush league, low-class and altogether
hard to accept, I can only offer the advice
proffered by those stalwart Canadian icons, the
brothers McKenzie: Bob and Doug.
Take off, eh?
of McGuinty's.
They are still doing it and in the past few
days leaked plans to crack down on industries
that spill chemicals in waterways and make it
easier for municipalities to install cameras to
catch drivers crossing against red lights.
McGuinty's staff even tried to get him five
minutes free time on all the major TV
networks around the time of his tax increase so
he could make his case straight to the people
without being interrupted by nosy journalists,
but the networks wisely refused.
They were wary because they gave
McGuinty's Tory predecessor, Ernie Eves,
time to talk on the power blackout last year
and he used it to promote himself as a hero
who handled it well, and a new
communications director in McGuinty's office
would similarly be turned down.
McGuinty has lost popularity because of his
own acts — his staff has done just about
everything they could to get him seen in a
sympathetic light, short of having him
kidnapped by aliens.
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Just the beginning „
This past weekend our older son was
married. They lucked out, especially
considering how this summer's
behaving, on a perfect day of blue sky and
sunshine. They were also fortunate in that most
of those they hold near and dear were able to
share their special day with them.
This bride and groom made it easy on their
moms and dads, seeing to the majority of
details for the occasion themselves. And did a
good job if I may toot their horn for them a bit.
Yet, there is always something to be done
and the summer has been busy as a result.
There have been parties to organize and attend,
many telephone conversations, tasks to
accomplish and the pick-up and delivery sorted
out for important out-of-towners. It moves in a
blur, until finally, after months and months of
planning the day is here and .over in what
seems a heartbeat.
• Sunday dawned and for the first time in a
long time, there was nothing that needed to be
done or thought about. After a nice, leisurely
brunch with our family, followed by a quick
trip to Toronto, my husband and I found
ourselves in that typical morning-after position
of having lost our focus. With talk about
showers, bachelor parties, centrepieces and
tuxedo rentals consuming a good portion of the
year, it is a curious feeling to suddenly find
yourself without that. On that quiet Sunday
afternoon, it seemed there was really nothing
now to look forward to.
Don't get me wrong. In life there is always
something waiting around the corner for us, but
everyone knows there is a let-down after this
type of celebration.
There's a lot of energy put into preparing for
an event; it is for a time all-consuming. it's
exciting, it's something to look forward to. It's
fun. So obviously there's a bit of a deflated
feeling when all is said and done.
However, I can't help thinking that it's one
more common to the parents than the children
in this case. After all when it comes to a
wedding, it's not about something being over
for the newlyweds, but rather just beginning.
The other day I happened to hear on the
radio, one of the songs that was sung for my
wedding. Recalling that young couple it
seemed so long ago, yet like yesterday. And
thinking back to that spring day many years
ago, I recalled the excitement of entering a new
chapter in life. Like our son and his bride, my
husband and I were the ones to plan our
wedding and reception. For months I know it
was the only subject discussed.
For that time of year we didn't fare too badly
weatherwise, only experiencing a little
downpour as we left the church. (And it's been
long enough to cancel any supersitition that
may be attached to that)
We too were blessed by the presence of most
of those we held near and dear to help us share
our special day.
It too was a blur that was over in what
seemed a °heartbeat. But not one moment's let-
down.
I suppose a wedding needn't be such a big
undertaking. I suppose it could be easier. After
all, you're no more married if you invite 500
than if you invite five.
But in this little reflection I've started
wondering that perhaps, if there's one party in
life that should be a really good show it's a
wedding. Because of all the celebrations to
follow in the years after, that one is just the
beginning.
McGuinty blames spin dots