# Canadian Spelling? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 19, 2000, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537 "2000-10-19T14:59:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jeel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71e660/32.png) [@jeel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeel)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/1 "2000-10-19T14:59:30Z")
So, I’m writing my Canadian friend an email the other day and to poke fun, I put “Ay” at the end of a couple of my sentences… He writes back and says, “Hey hoser, get it right! “Eh” is spelled E-H, not A-Y.” What the hell? IMHO, “eh” would not be pronounced as a “short A”…There is no word in the dictionary that I can think of, that would use “eh” to sound like a short A. The spelling A-Y makes more sense…at least to me and a couple of other friends. We’ll talk about the Canadian definition of bacon later…hehehehe…Just kidding. ---
**Author:** ![scratch1300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/2 "2000-10-19T15:01:31Z")
An older, alternative spelling of _okay_ is _okeh_, same pronunciation. Other than that, I can think of no other examples. ---
**Author:** ![Kyberneticist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kyberneticist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyberneticist)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/3 "2000-10-19T15:24:48Z")
shouldn’t that be “Å” ? But when I’ve heard the “eh” from my Atlantic province friends, it often has more of a grunted sound like the French “eh”. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/4 "2000-10-19T21:21:27Z")
I don’t make up the rules, I just follow them, and your friend is right, it is “eh”. At least that’s how we Canadians spell it. And don’t get me started on Canadian bacon… ---
**Author:** ![Angkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Angkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angkins)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/5 "2000-10-19T21:49:13Z")
Maybe we spell it “eh” so that it is billingual. Just a thought 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Odieman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a87d85/32.png) [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2000, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/6 "2000-10-19T23:09:09Z")
also the “h” is sounded, if it was ay it would be to soft to convey the sound, eh. Keith ---
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2000, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/7 "2000-10-20T00:07:32Z")
We spell it EH just to confuse the 'Markins. ---
**Author:** ![Renton\_lvr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7feea3/32.png) [@Renton\_lvr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renton_lvr)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2000, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/8 "2000-10-20T04:02:46Z")
Maybe we spell it that way to distinguish it from Fonzie’s “Ayyy”. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2000, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/9 "2000-10-20T10:40:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Suo Na \* > \*\*We spell it EH just to confuse the 'Markins. \*\* I’m not a 'Markin – I’m a 'Murikin. God bless 'Murica! ---
**Author:** ![Lazarus7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lazarus7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazarus7)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2000, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/10 "2000-10-20T18:33:02Z")
mmmmm … did someone mention bacon? I love bacon, eh. It is very tasty !!! ---
**Author:** ![cantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@cantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantara)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2000, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/11 "2000-10-20T20:01:57Z")
Angkins - I seem to remember from the second or third year of French in grade school coming across the ‘French’ version of ‘eh’. None of the class could really figure it out until the teacher enlightened us. It was written ‘hein’ (I think, it was 20 years ago) and used at the end of a question in the same way. Odieman - I agree, it just shows how different Canadians and Americans are…I’ve heard them end questions with ‘hey?’. and what’s wrong with calling it Peameal Bacon? I much prefer that to Canadian Bacon. BTW, I also got a surprise when asked if I wanted ‘American cheese’ on a burger and got a processed cheese slice. I was expecting some sort of real cheese, like a Wisconson cheddar… ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2000, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/12 "2000-10-21T03:05:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cantara \* > BTW, I also got a surprise when asked if I wanted ‘American cheese’ on a burger and got a processed cheese slice. I was expecting some sort of real cheese, like a Wisconson cheddar… \*\* I think they call that American cheese because it so resembles the cheese that the U.S. government gives to school lunch programs and other programs. I remember my first trip to Canada when I was about 9 years old. At one point, we decided to go out for pizza. We looked at the menu, and one of the toppings was “Bacon”. We all said, “Hmmm, never had bacon on a pizza before, let’s try that!” As we waited for the pizza, it eventually dawned on us that, since we were in Canada, we were going to get a Canadian bacon pizza, which we certainly had had before. There was some sort of beer strike or something going on in Canada at the time, too, but the restaurant had several fine imported brews, like Michelob :). I know someone now who really likes “American” bacon on pizza. When he orders it, he asks for “breakfast” bacon to distiguish it from Canadian bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2000, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/13 "2000-10-21T09:39:29Z")
A few points: In my part of Canada (Alberta), “eh” isn’t used. I don’t use it at all when I speak. The reaction of the Candadian in the commercial found at [http://www.adcritic.com/content/molson-canadian-no-doot-aboot-it.html](http://www.adcritic.com/content/molson-canadian-no-doot-aboot-it.html) is, indeed, appropriate. It’s not Canadian bacon. It’s called “ham” or “back bacon”; it is never referred to as “Canadian bacon” or “bacon” here. “Bacon” is the kind that comes in thin strips that one eats at breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2000, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-spelling/37537/14 "2000-10-21T13:21:19Z")
Max, I beg to differ. I live in Edmonton, and I know people that use “eh”.