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Question about my canadian habit

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-ph7
May 08, 2011, 04:28 PM
I'm not Canadian, but everyone who knows me says I have some strong Canadian and British tendencies ( their expressions and idioms just make more sense than stupid American English.).

For example, I like to say "Aye" at the end some sentences, especially questions. However, I notice I do this ALOT more in Spanish.

"It's a good day today, aye?"

"Hace buen tiempo, ¿e?"

I only really talk to myself in spanish, so my question is how wierd does that sound in spanish? Even when I try to say "no" instead of "e", "e" just slips out a lot.

Would people understand me? When I think about it I like saying Aye more than 'si' or 'no'....donno just sounds good in my head lmao

Rusty
May 08, 2011, 05:17 PM
I think that entre amigos you might hear an occasional '¿eh?'
(note the 'h' on the end), and it seems to mean the same thing as '¿no?'.

If you use it and your audience isn't used to hearing it, they'll just right it off as being part of your accent.
But if you're striving to speak Spanish the way everyone does, listen to the phrases they use and adapt to their way of speaking.
When in Rome ....

Caballero
May 16, 2011, 09:13 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eh

The only usage of eh? that is exclusive to Canada, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, is for "ascertaining the comprehension, continued interest, agreement, etc., of the person or persons addressed" as in, "It's four kilometres away, eh, so I have to go by bike." In that case, eh? is used to confirm the attention of the listener and to invite a supportive noise such as "Mm" or "Oh" or "Okay" This usage may be paraphrased as "I'm checking to see that you're
[listening/following/in agreement] so I can continue." Grammatically, this usage constitutes an interjection; functionally, it is an implicit request for back-channel communication.