All of the Canadian youtubers that I watch pronounce the letter z as "zi", as is done in the United States. However, I have read online that it is more common for Canadians to pronounce it as "zed", as is done in the United Kingdom. Is this a regional thing? How do you pronounce the letter z?

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[–] 50 points 6 months ago* (6 children)

Like many things, it depends. I'm curious about the context where you're actually hearing YouTubers say the letter.

It's usually "zed" and we're taught it as "zed" in school - at least when i was a kid.

If I'm spelling something it is Zed. I don't think I've ever said Zee in that context.

The alphabet ends with Zee when singing it, due to the rhyme with Vee (and probably Sesame Street).

In my head I will say Nissan Zee for a Z type car. Though if I was to speak the phrase "Nissan Z type" I would say Zed.

When it is used in online slang (GG EZ) it is "Zee" for "easy".

ZZ Top is Zee Zee Top. Zorro draws a Zed. Things are Zed-shaped, not Zee-shaped in general.

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  • [–] 15 points 6 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 11 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Another common one for me that I didn't even notice for a while was Gen-Z, which I will always say "jenzi". Zed sounds unacceptable there, even though I say zed in most other cases besides those you've outlined.

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