When I write, I make sure to use the Canadian spelling of words. (I am so ecstatic when I type the u in words like favourite, neighbour, favour, honour, etc. and it doesn't result in the red squiggly underline...this was not always the case.)
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But pronouncing things the Canadian way? That's a little more difficult.
When people ask me what my blog name is, I make a conscious effort to pronounce it "Why-Why-Zed" Bambina. Because it's the Canadian way.
I shouldn't have to make a conscious effort to say something I've known since I was little, but it's hard.
Especially when Sesame Street and many other children's programming is American. When Elmo, my daughter's favourite monster of all time, opens his mouth to sing his ABCs, I cringe. All because of the last letter he sings - Z.
The American pronunciation is Zee.
The Canadian (British) pronunciation is Zed.
Since Elmo lives on Sesame Street in the U.S.A. he sings Zee.
Some of Hannah's toys sing zee, but a surprising number sing zed. One of her favourites is made by Leap Frog. They style the ABC song differently - zed is the last thing sung, there's no "Next time will you sing with me" business.
I think Hannah prefers this version. I think she mainly prefers it because I don't howl over the Leap Frog ending.
Unlike when I try to over power Elmo in a battle of ballad pronunciation. She always looks at me like I'm crazy, and doesn't understand why I am so passionate about singing the song differently than her hero, Elmo.
Thankfully she hasn't seen this yet:
![The Great Canadian Blog Bash]()
The post is part of The Great Canadian Blog Bash. Check out more Canadian-themed blog posts, in celebration of Canada Day and all things Canuck!
© 2013 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.
When people ask me what my blog name is, I make a conscious effort to pronounce it "Why-Why-Zed" Bambina. Because it's the Canadian way.
I shouldn't have to make a conscious effort to say something I've known since I was little, but it's hard.
Especially when Sesame Street and many other children's programming is American. When Elmo, my daughter's favourite monster of all time, opens his mouth to sing his ABCs, I cringe. All because of the last letter he sings - Z.
The American pronunciation is Zee.
The Canadian (British) pronunciation is Zed.
Since Elmo lives on Sesame Street in the U.S.A. he sings Zee.
Some of Hannah's toys sing zee, but a surprising number sing zed. One of her favourites is made by Leap Frog. They style the ABC song differently - zed is the last thing sung, there's no "Next time will you sing with me" business.
I think Hannah prefers this version. I think she mainly prefers it because I don't howl over the Leap Frog ending.
Unlike when I try to over power Elmo in a battle of ballad pronunciation. She always looks at me like I'm crazy, and doesn't understand why I am so passionate about singing the song differently than her hero, Elmo.
Thankfully she hasn't seen this yet:
Can you imagine me trying to sing over that catchiness? It's only a matter of time since Sesame Street is a staple in our house thanks to Netflix (and OK, our mutual love for Sesame Street). Plus, I'll be too busy dancing to the beat and awing over how cute cartoon Elmo looks.
How do you explain to a child that even though the letter is pronounced Zed it makes the Zee sound? Perhaps I'll leave that to her teachers.
As long as they pronounce it right.
I must know, how do you pronounce Z?
The post is part of The Great Canadian Blog Bash. Check out more Canadian-themed blog posts, in celebration of Canada Day and all things Canuck!
© 2013 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.