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Original poster

The letter J

54 replies

CampsieGlamper · 22/03/2024 08:25

As the letter H seems to be a good topic of conversation on its pronunciation(!!!) what about J?
Do you pronounce is as "jay" or as "j-eye" and is the pronunciation as hidebound in sectarianism or class-ism as poor and humble/umble H?

OP posts:
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Riverlee · 22/03/2024 12:11

Misthios · 22/03/2024 09:05

In Scotland it's very common to pronounce J not as Jay but to rhyme with I - pronounced eye.

Thank you. I was trying to work out how Jay and Jai were different.

xILikeJamx · 22/03/2024 12:06

Either makes sense I guess - in the alphabet it's in the middle of 'i' and 'k' so could rhyme with either.

I was born and did first 3 years at school in Aberdeenshire. My middle name begins with J - 'jay' as I knew it.

We then moved to the central belt of Scotland as I started P4 and remember my first day at the new school the teacher making me stand up and introduce myself. She asked something about spelling my name(s) for some reason and said "Your middle name begins with 'jai' doesn't it?" and I was like "No it doesn't?! It's 'jay'..." - I had literally no idea what the hell she was talking about. Bitch gave me into trouble for it.

Spent my school years calling it 'jai' after that but have since reverted to 'jay'

ASighMadeOfStone · 22/03/2024 12:00

@MorticiaAddamsIsMyStyleGuru
Great link, thank you!

Patrickiscrazy · 22/03/2024 11:57

Whaaat?
Not British by origin 😂
Still have problems "naming" letters after 25 years.

NoAprilFool · 22/03/2024 11:57

I’m Scottish (Highlands) and have always pronounced it Jay.

outwith is a brilliant word which I use regularly

Swearwolf · 22/03/2024 11:53

Jai is just parts of Scotland!

TabbyM · 22/03/2024 11:50

Jai (massive indicator of being brought up in West of Scotland)!

Talipesmum · 22/03/2024 11:49

Ooh interesting! I’d never heard of it being pronounced other than “Jay” to rhyme with “Kay”. Brilliant to hear it rhymes with “eye” in some accents / parts of the UK. Looking forward to hearing that in the wild one day.

CutthroatDruTheViolent · 22/03/2024 11:43

I'd literally never heard of the variants in pronouncing J until today! Everyday's a school day!

Misthios · 22/03/2024 11:43

Really interesting that the "j-eye" pronunciation is thought to be linked with the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France. Would never have made that connection.

whyismysoupcold · 22/03/2024 11:32

Never heard anybody say j-eye before, but I can imagine it won't be too long before I do. Lots of people say "ok-eye" instead of "okay" around here... it hurts my ears 😂

(I'm an "ay-tch" kinda person as well)

MamaWillYouBuyMeAWillYouBuyMeABanana · 22/03/2024 11:31

Scottish and Jai here.

BigBoysDontCry · 22/03/2024 11:31

I'd say J-eye when reciting the alphabet but other wise Jay if spelling something out like a postcode or registration number. Scottish.

IntermittentFarting · 22/03/2024 11:28

Newsenmum · 22/03/2024 11:04

jai? Is that like jeye?

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Yes. If by jeye you mean rhyming with eye!

nonmerci99 · 22/03/2024 11:17

Where I live in Ayrshire, "djai" (to rhyme with "eye") is very common. It's certainly got nothing to do with education, as university-educated relatives pronounce it this way.

Newsenmum · 22/03/2024 11:04

IntermittentFarting · 22/03/2024 08:46

Exactly this. In my Scottish childhood we said Jai. I call the letter Jay now, but if I'm going through the alphabet, either out loud or in my head, the it's always

"Haitch eye jai kay"

having learnt it like that!

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jai? Is that like jeye?

TheBirdintheCave · 22/03/2024 11:03

My son does this! Drives me potty as his dad and I say 'jay' 😂He's learnt the alphabet song from his childminder and she has (some form of) London accent in which the J sounds like 'jeye'. I just gently correct him whenever I hear it as we don't live in London and would rather he spoke like us 😅

TheDogdidGood · 22/03/2024 10:58

WhatWouldTheDoctorDo · 22/03/2024 08:29

Jay now but Jai when I was growing up in Scotland.

That took me back! I live in Oz now but was born and lived in Scotland for half my life. I say ‘Jay’ here but I mentally ran through the alphabet and yes,,, Scotland “haitch, aye, jai…. “

IntermittentFarting · 22/03/2024 10:52

MorticiaAddamsIsMyStyleGuru · 22/03/2024 09:50

www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/reason-glaswegians-say-jai-instead-25975325#:~:text=The%20Oxford%20English%20Dictionary%20(1st,common%20in%20Scotland%20and%20elsewhere.%22

I forgot the link. It is not restricted to Glasgow though. I should have said that in my original post.

That's right. I'm from Fife which is very much Jai territory!

IntermittentFarting · 22/03/2024 10:49

LovelyTheresa · 22/03/2024 09:28

There is no correct accent, but there is a correct pronunciation.

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No, there's not. There are correct, regional variations. Anglophone dialects and accents are just as regular, rule-governed and accepted as the supposed "correct" RP version.

Its ignorance and arrogance to suggest that whole groups or countries are wrong.

WelcomeMarch · 22/03/2024 10:24

That's fascinating. I had no idea that jai/jay were regional variants or that haitch was the main form in some regions.

(And I even knew that j and i were once considered the same letter, but the consequence hadn't occurred to me.)

BlazesBoylansHat · 22/03/2024 10:17

I think the Essex accent pronounces some of these letters differently. I know someone from there & she says the letter I as 'oy' & the letter J as joy (or similar)
I say jay

mondaytosunday · 22/03/2024 10:15

Never heard anyone pronounce it other than jay.

TressiliansStone · 22/03/2024 10:04

I'm just here for the "outwith" love!Easter Grin

Totally agree with PP. No idea how I ever managed before learning this perfectly expressive word.

OkPedro · 22/03/2024 09:55

Ah love these threads people tie themselves into knots when they realise not everyone has the same accent ☺️

I'm Irish so the letter H is pronounced Haitch although strangely if I'm singing the alphabet I pronounce Haitch as Aitch..How is the letter Haitch/Aitch taught in British schools when you learn words like house home etc? I assume it's a soft H sound?

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