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Six months ago we adopted Sasha from Russia and moved him to the all USA city of St. Louis.
He supposedly could not speak any English (and the Russian he was speaking could have been French for all I know).
Now he speaks it so well we have trouble shutting him up.
Now he starts every 5th sentence with "Ay". "Ay Poppa, look at me." "Ay, Momma, I'm hungry."
Some think he is just leaving the H off of Hay.
I'm not sure.
Think about it. If there were a collusion between Russia and Canada, they'd have a virtual monopoly on snow, cold, and all the Arctic resources.
They'd practically surround Santa's Magical Kingdom and could charge great fees for the fly-over rights.
They could influence the price of oil, timber, and herring. Oh, god, please don't let them cut our herring supply.
If they could recapture Alaska, they'd be linked in ways that didn't require polar expeditions.
Growing some subversive undercove mole agents deep into the US's mainstream could be the first step in this diabolical plan.
And we know which of those two countries harbors the evil mastermind who seeks true world domination.
Canada, the scourge of the West.
Well my Northern friends, I shall not let you have my son. I'll get him to love warm weather and hate government provided health care. I'll get him to prefer Baseball to Hockey, Marines to Mounties, and over-priced locally purchased prescription medicine to the identical by more reasonably priced alternatives that you tempt us with (now there's an evil Canadian plot. Get us hooked on your cheap drugs and soon you'll stop giving them to us unless we pay you with something like New Mexico. Don't worry, our hero President Bush knows all about your plan and is taking steps to insure that no true American will sell out his country for life-giving medicines at prices that won't kill them).
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:If they could recapture Alaska, they'd be linked in ways that didn't require polar expeditions.
Not gonna happen. We're very well armed, you know. When the Canadians invade, waving their hockey sticks around, we'll just shoot them. Then we'll take the Yukon Territory just for fun.
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Its flown for us as well. I really do need to work on the rest of his adoption story one of these days.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I would like to know about your adoption process. We have been trying for quite sometime to have another child, but have had no luck. It is getting quite discouraging and heartbreaking for us (my wife especially). And to be honest, quite expensive. I understand an adoption is also expensive, but it's also guaranteed (for the most part...right?). I know each state has different laws and regulations regarding adoptions, and Montana doesn't have a huge support network (because of lack of people, I suppose) but the process has to be similar. If you would care to take a bit and maybe give me some ideas, that would be great.
Posts: 36 | Registered: Nov 2003
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Jestak, I have to go in a couple minutes, but I would be happy to talk to you about Adoption, the pro's and the Con's, the good and the bad.
I'll start a thread on it tomorrow.
Cost range widely depending on where you go to adopt, but the minimum I've seen has still been in the 5 digit range.
We adopted from Russia, but I don't suggest that for the next few months. Changes in the country have brought a recent extreme slowdown to the adoption process. Where we only waited 3 weeks between our first visit with Sasha and when we were able to take him home, some people are waiting months now.
If you are interested in local adoptions, Wendy's has a great web-site that has lots of details.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I'll admit, I'm a bit confused. What does saying "Ay" at the beginning of a sentence have to do with being Canadian? It's "eh?" and it goes at the end of a sentence.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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When you say it outloud, I don't think the spelling matters. "Ay" in this case sounds like "eh" and I've heard "eh" used as a non-question, throughout sentences.
Unless I'm just not Canadian enough to realize there are rules on how to say "eh". Posts: 378 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Does this mean you live in Missouri? Where in St. Louis do you live? Maybe we could meet and have an intellectual conversation sometime....seeing as I live near St. Louis.....oh and that happens to alot of people.........just hope he hasn't seen any Canada related South Park episodes or the South Park movie...............
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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Trust me, Lea, there might not be official rules, but most Canadians can definitely hear the difference. I've yet to hear an American get even close. It's quite the useful shibboleth, actually.
And yeah, it usually sounds a lot like a question, with that rising inflection at the end, but it isn't always an actual question.
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I've always figured the war with Canada would start as an innocent trans-border snowball fight up near International Falls.
Posts: 144 | Registered: Apr 2003
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"I'll admit, I'm a bit confused. What does saying "Ay" at the beginning of a sentence have to do with being Canadian? It's "eh?" and it goes at the end of a sentence."
I was going to say the same thing. So, I guess he is just trying to be like the Fonz. Maybe they have not gotten out of the 70's yet in their tv shows. I have heard they are a bit behind in this area.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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I'll do the adoption thread shortly. I was busy today.
Ay is the American spelling of Eh. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
Yes I know that it comes after a sentence in Canada, but I try hard not to let good facts get in the way of a silly post. If I had to only post logical, fact filled items of interest, my post count would be about 12.
I don't hear anyone denying that Canada is evil.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Oh, and I live in St. Clair, Mo about an hour south west of St. Louis. I'd love to get together and have an intelligenct conversation sometime.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Although the use of eh is regarded by some as characteristically Canadian, most usages of eh are spread throughout the English-speaking world, in the meaning of "Huh?" or "What?" or "Repeat that, please".
It is an invariant question tag, unlike the "is it?" and "have you?" tags that have, with the insertion of not, different construction in positive and negative questions.
According to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary the only usage of eh that is peculiar to Canada 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". It essentially is an interjection meaning, "I'm checking to see you're listening so I can continue." This "Canadian" usage seems to be most prevalent in the Maritimes and Southern Ontario (according to what I've read, it's just coincidence that those are the two places I've lived).
Depending on the speaker's tone or the dialectal standard, eh can also be perceived as rude or impolite, as "Repeat that!", and not a request. However, in Australian and New Zealand English, 'eh' is also found, though as an exclamation, rather than part of a question. "He's all right, eh!" This has its origins in Scotland, where is can also be heard. The equivalent in South African English is hey, maybe of Afrikaans and Dutch origin?
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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"OHHHH, I wish I was in the land that gave us Peter Jennings, Alanis Morrisette, Mike Meyers too... No, I take that back, I wouldnt go there even if you paid me. Oh, Canada, you are a place I must eschew." Yes, evil...
Posts: 499 | Registered: Mar 2004
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To me, the most amusing thing about the word "shibboleth" is that it isn't spelled/pronounced like the original Hebrew. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I've only lived in the west - British Columbia to Manitoba - and people in those provinces definitely used the "eh" bit, especially my redneck brother and his ilk, so I don't know where this "Maritime provinces and Ontario" thing comes from. That's just dead wrong. Unless that's where the west gets it from. Oh wait, Bob and Doug Mackenzie . . . Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Unless that's where the west gets it from. Oh wait, Bob and Doug Mackenzie . . . 
