Do Irish people say 'eh' more than other nationalities?

pappyodaniel

Dara O'Brian being the obvious one but listening to our politicians it just seems like 90% of the time they are speaking is filled up with 'ehs' instead of having the confidence to just quietly pause and choose their words in a confident manner a la Tony Blair.

I think the French do it also but I dont speak French so I dont know if it's an exaggerated stereotype.

iDann

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh no.

Me_Grapes

Scousers. Not a nationality, but they say "eh" before everything they say.

yer man!

No but we say "Grand!" way too much, americans laugh at me over here.

WilyCoyote

Most of Bertie's answers contained more 'EHs' than words. Except that he pronounced it differently. So he certainly did.

Canadians say it all the time, I hear it everyday here in Vancouver.

Every language and dialect has a similar placeholder/pause. Nothing to see here.

pappyodaniel

Sacramento wrote: »

Canadians say it all the time, I hear it everyday here in Vancouver.

No it's not a pronounce eh, but a flat eh, kinda hard to describe it phonetically but it doesn't sound like the capital letter A.

pappyodaniel

this is what i mean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfGxxf_WHvM

pappyodaniel

Me_Grapes wrote: »

Scousers. Not a nationality, but they say "eh" before everything they say.

calm down calm down, liverpool is the biggest irsh city outside of dublin likkke.

DEFTLEFTHAND

It's more Canadian, the US rip the piss out of them over it.

Just a little jokey thing, harmless banter between neighbours, like the English slagging the Paddies about saying grand or not being able to pronounce their TH's.

pappyodaniel

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

It's more Canadian, the US rip the piss out of them over it.

Just a little jokey thing, harmless banter between neighbours, like the English slagging the Paddies about saying grand or not being able to pronounce their TH's.

I know what you mean but i'm talking about how irish people use the word.

eg.
*Irish person answering the question

"So why do you think we should give you the job?"

-

"Eh, I think you should, eh, offer me the job because eh, I have a degree in, eh, quantum physics and eh, I have, eh, bla bla bla.

Frank Lee Midere

pappyodaniel wrote: »

I know what you mean but i'm talking about how irish people use the word.

eg.
*Irish person answering the question

-

But the question is "Do Irish people use eh more than other nationalities".

Answer: No. less than the Canadians.

Although both use it in different contexts.

Jesus Wept

pappyodaniel wrote: »

this is what i mean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfGxxf_WHvM

Dara says it a lot at the end of a joke when he is hoping people will laugh at what he said just previously. It's annoying ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

I think it's "Meh" you'r thinking of.

suicide_circus

Spaniards surely?

"eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....que?"

Christen.a

The Canadians are the ones that like to use 'eh' in my experience and believe this to be FACT, although yes the Irish do also like to use it a lot.

Celly Smunt

Canadians are horrible for eh,especially eastern Canadians."Yu gohin doun the park eh?,get sum beeirs eh."

JonSnuuu

I think the point to OP is trying to get across is that Canadians pronounce eh as an "eyy" sound using it almost like a question. eg "You're from Toronto, eh?"

What the OP means is Irish people use "eh" to fill silence in conversations when thinking of a word. and pronounce it more like "Ahhh" or "errr"

The two words are spelled the same but the pronunciation is different and so is the meaning really. Like live as in "Live TV" and live as in "to Live"

the purple tin

Americans do it a lot but they say uh instead of eh.

Frank Lee Midere

JonSnuuu wrote: »

I think the point to OP is trying to get across is that Canadians pronounce eh as an "eyy" sound using it almost like a question. eg "You're from Toronto, eh?"

What the OP means is Irish people use "eh" to fill silence in conversations when thinking of a word. and pronounce it more like "Ahhh" or "errr"

The two words are spelled the same but the pronunciation is different and so is the meaning really. Like live as in "Live TV" and live as in "to Live"

But that's not the question he asked. Originally anyway.

Yes Irish people do use eh the Irish way more than other nationalities who use eh
In their way /thread.

It's not universal, and Dara uses it more than most but he's still pretty articulate.

BurnsCarpenter

I think you hear 'ahm' more than 'eh' in Ireland.

enda1

Yes Irish people have on average a poor ability at public speaking.
I think the English have a more confidence building educational system which encourages talking at assemblies for example and in-class participation - debating etc.

It's a shame really as it forms an instant character reflection on the person.

Frank Lee Midere

BurnsCarpenter wrote: »

I think you hear 'ahm' more than 'eh' in Ireland.

This too. Dara replaced ahm or um with eh. Also I think he uses it for emphasis, to skip a beat for comedic value.

As the, eh, nurse said to the bishop.

Frank Lee Midere

enda1 wrote: »

Yes Irish people have on average a poor ability at public speaking.
I think the English have a more confidence building educational system which encourages talking at assemblies for example and in-class participation - debating etc.

It's a shame really as it forms an instant character reflection on the person.

You really think that Dara O'Brien comes across as a poor public speaker?

enda1

Frank Lee Midere wrote: »

You really think that Dara O'Brien comes across as a poor public speaker?

I'm not talking about Dara O'Briain. That's why I said "average" Irish person.

Think more Bertie or Charlie McCreavy.

Frank Lee Midere

enda1 wrote: »

I'm not talking about Dara O'Briain. That's why I said "average" Irish person.

Think more Bertie or Charlie McCreavy.

But Dara -- as this thread shows -- says eh more than most. You are expected to read the thread btw. The OP's example is Dara.

positron

I was wondering about this only the other day - it's as if majority of the Irish have gone slightly retarded or have acquired some speech and language disability. How can so many - including TV newsreaders - think that it's acceptable to open their gob without having a clue about what they are going to say?

enda1

Frank Lee Midere wrote: »

But Dara -- as this thread shows -- says eh more than most. You are expected to read the thread btw. The OP's example is Dara.

Thanks for your back-seat moderation, it's greatly appreciated.

The OP said 90% of politicians.

Dara is a comedian, he can speak how he likes. He uses "eh" to comedic effect.

Madam

enda1 wrote: »

Thanks for your back-seat moderation, it's greatly appreciated.

The OP said 90% of politicians.

Dara is a comedian, he can speak how he likes. He uses "eh" to comedic effect.

eh?

Frank Lee Midere

enda1 wrote: »

Thanks for your back-seat moderation, it's greatly appreciated.

The OP said 90% of politicians.

Dara is a comedian, he can speak how he likes. He uses "eh" to comedic effect.

He said Dara O'Brien being the obvious one in the very first sentence. Why can comedians speak as they like - it's clearly a form of public speaking.

The fact is this verbal tic doesn't really cause any misunderstanding. Although I don't use it myself.

Frank Lee Midere

Also British people do use a form if it mainly an elongation of "a" as they think of the next word.

Of course this is ahh.. deliberate attack on democracy.

fondue

In think Irish people use "em" a lot when trying to think of something to say as opposed to England or Australia who say "um".

WilyCoyote

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

I think it's "Meh" you'r thinking of.

"Meh Eh", no Princess darling. That's what Irish goats say.

feargale

pappyodaniel wrote: »

Dara O'Brian being the obvious one but listening to our politicians it just seems like 90% of the time they are speaking is filled up with 'ehs' instead of having the confidence to just quietly pause and choose their words in a confident manner a la Tony Blair.

I think the French do it also but I dont speak French so I dont know if it's an exaggerated stereotype.

Yes the French tend to linger over a word or syllable. Some English speakers throw in a stalling phrase such as " you know." Spanish-speakers throw in the word "pues" and Italians are fond of saying "ecco." That's before you even begin to consider the use of the f-word and kindred vocabulary as a stalling device. Speaking figuratively, when Adam was thrown out of Eden and turned into a half-zombie he wasn't told that an exception would be made in respect of his power to articulate. Look before you leap. Better to talk sense after a pause than to utter spontaneous crap.

General General

I think some people use it out of habit, the habit forming as they found it pleasing in some way to hear or to say or both.

It's bizarre.. but some people, I'm fairly sure, think it sounds good.

Mint Aero

No.

Canadians say Eh more

Americans say Um

However, in Ireland.

People who say Eh are dumb

People who say Um are tossers

Super-Rush

Sean Moncrieff is the worst offender for this.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

WilyCoyote wrote: »

"Meh Eh", no Princess darling. That's what Irish goats say.

No, that would be Bertie Ah.

Seachmall

Frank Lee Midere wrote: »

Why can comedians speak as they like - it's clearly a form of public speaking.

What you want from a politician is different that what you want from a comedian despite them both being public speakers.

You want reassurance from a politician and funnies from a comedian so you will naturally be less critical of the comedians verbal stutters and breaks.


However I *think* if you watch Barack Obama speak in interviews and debates (I.e. non-scripted public speaking) he does a bit of "aww"ing and people seem to be reassured by him.

The Dom

pappyodaniel wrote: »

this is what i mean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfGxxf_WHvM

Someone should do one of Eddie Izzard, he's just as bad.

constance tench

Mint Aero wrote: »

No.

Canadians say Eh more

Americans say Um

However, in Ireland.

People who say Eh are dumb

People who say Um are tossers

...oh..em and gee

Where as we say Gee.

Kikin

Eh eh I eh won it on de eh horses

Cookie_Monster

sticking 'ya know' into each sentence 14 times is something I find more annoying and really notice when I am back in Ireland now