Eh, eh?

Canadians are known for their use of the grammatical interjection "eh".   As most people know, eh can be used to gain agreement, "It's hot out, eh?"  or can be used, sometimes, in the middle of a sentence to ensure that the listener is still listening and invite an indication of support - "My cat is not well, eh, so I had to take him to see the vet."

Canadians like to think that their use of eh is unequalled in the world, and I counted myself among those smug people, that was, until I visited Rwanda.

Rwandans also have an "eh" but the Rwandan "eh" encompasses all of  the meanings of the Canadian "eh" and then some.  Indeed, in Rwanda, people can carry on all manner of conversations by using this one word alone, just depending on the tone, degree of emphasis, and the body language displayed while saying the word.   There is the simple "eh" like Canadians say, there is a slightly Fonzie-ish "eh" and the full-Fonzie "eh".

For example, a simple greeting between two people might sound like this:
John: Eh!
Michel: Eh!

This translates as:
John: Good Morning Michel!
Michel: Good Morning John!

People who haven't seen each other for a while might have a conversation like this:
John: (Full-Fonzie) Eh!
Michel: (Full-Fonzie) Eh!

This translates as:
John: Michel! How are you! I haven't seen you in ages!
Michel: Great to see you! It's been a long time!

In the Nakumat store one afternoon, we turned down an aisle and a chap was cleaning the floor after a spill. He looked at us, raised his hand in the universal signal for stop and said “Eh!”  This clearly meant “if you step on this wet floor that I’ve just washed after some idiot dropped a jar of pickles, you’ll be sorry!”

Here is another example I have personally heard:
Martin: Eh.
Olivier: Eh.
Martin: Eh.
Olivier: Eh
Martin: Eh.
Olivier: Eh
Martin: Eh.
Olivier: Eh
Martin: Eh.
Olivier: Eh.
Martin: Eh, eh?
Olivier: Eh
Martin: Eh.
Olivier: Eh
Martin: Eh.
Olivier: Eh


This translates as:

Martin: So we're off to Nyarubuye today.
Olivier: Yes. It's a bit of a drive.
Martin: I know a short-cut to get us there quicker.
Olivier: I like a good short cut.
Martin: Me too.
Olivier: So what's the short cut?
Martin: I will give you directions.
Olivier: Fantastic!
Martin: It's a bit of an unusual short-cut in that we will have to stop every adult we see to ask         directions.
Olivier: No problem - people are friendly here and like to help.
Martin: Boy this road is pretty rocky, eh?  (This is a rare use of the double eh)
Olivier: Man is it ever!
Martin: You're a good driver so it will be ok.
Olivier: And this is a good bus.
Martin: I hope these guys brought gravol!
Olivier: Me too!  I have to clean the bus if they didn't!