Editing Eh (section)

===New Zealand===

While not as commonly lampooned as the Canadian ''eh'', there are few features that are more eagerly recognized by [[New Zealanders]] as a marker of their identity than the tag particle ''eh'' (commonly spelt as ''ay'', although this has been contentious).<ref name="jstor.org">{{cite journal |jstor=4168535 |title=Sounds Pretty Ethnic, eh?: A Pragmatic Particle in New Zealand English |last=Meyerhoff |first=Miriam |journal=Language in Society |volume=23 |issue=3 |year=1994 |pages=367–388 |doi=10.1017/S0047404500018029 |s2cid=145168799}}</ref><ref name="newzealand.com">{{Cite web |title=New Zealand slang {{!}} 100% Pure New Zealand |url=https://www.newzealand.com/uk/new-zealand-slang/ |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=www.newzealand.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Ashleigh |date=2016-12-02 |title=A final, binding ruling on the correct spelling of the word "eh" |url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/02-12-2016/a-final-binding-ruling-on-the-correct-spelling-of-the-word-eh |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=The Spinoff |language=en}}</ref> New Zealanders use ''eh'' much more than Canadians, who are more famous for the word.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=MacManus |first=Joel |date=2019-06-28 |title=Why do New Zealanders say 'eh' so much? |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/113796639/why-do-new-zealanders-say-eh-so-much |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref> This commonly used and referenced feature of [[New Zealand English]] (NZE) is one of great controversy to many communication scholars as it is both a mark of cultural identity and simultaneously a means to parody those of a lower socioeconomic status.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} The use of ''eh'' in New Zealand is very common among all demographics.

Communications scholar [[Miriam Meyerhoff]] describes ''eh'' as a "validation checker" to create connections between speakers. She says that there are two main uses of the phrase: to signify a question, such as "You went to school in Christchurch, eh?"; or to confirm that the listener understands new information, such as "He was way bigger than me, eh". It is believed that ''eh'' became common in New Zealand due to similarity with the [[Māori language|Māori]] word {{Lang|mi|nē}}, which has a similar use.

A 1994 study by Meyerhoff sought to examine the function of ''eh'' in New Zealand culture. She hypothesized that ''eh'' did not function as a clarification device as frequently believed, but instead served as a means of establishing solidarity between individuals of similar ethnic descent. In her research, Meyerhoff analyzed conversations between an interviewer and an interviewee of either [[Pākehā]] or Māori descent and calculated the frequency of ''eh'' in the conversation. In order to yield the most natural speech, Meyerhoff instructed the interviewers to introduce themselves as a "friend of a friend", to their respective interviewees. Her results showed Māori men as the most frequent users of ''eh'' in their interviews. As Māori are typically of a lower socio-economic status, Meyerhoff proposed that ''eh'' functioned as a verbal cue that one reciprocated by another individual signified both shared identity and mutual acceptance. Therefore, in the context of Meyerhoff's research, ''eh'' can be equated as a device to establish and maintain a group identity.<ref name="jstor.org" /> This phenomenon sheds light on the continuous scholarly debate questioning if language determines culture or culture determines language.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} In New Zealand ''eh'' is used more often by males than females, more by younger generations than older generations, and more by the middle class than the working class. Māori use ''eh'' about twice as much than Pākehā, irrespective of their gender, age or class.<ref name=":4" />