We're a unique bunch here in Glasgow, especially when it comes to the way we talk.
The Glasgow accent gets a lot of attention, some good and some not so good - but even our pronunciation is noted by those from outside the city. When it comes to the way some of us say the letter J, this is often met with confusion.
Ask a Glaswegian to say JJB Sports, and you'll see what we mean. Thankfully, we've now got some answers as to where it comes from.
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Is it to do with linguistic laziness - not separating the J from I that comes just before it in the alphabet, so we don't need to shift sounds? Is it to differentiate more from the sound of the letter G?
Or maybe saying 'jay' sounds too American - like ‘zee’ instead of ‘zed’ for Z?
Jane Stuart-Smith, Professor of Phonetics and Sociolinguistics at the University of Glasgow, has been studying the Glaswegian dialect since moving to the city from Oxford in 1997. She is well aware of the curious phenomenon - but surmises that it may not just be a city thing.
She told Glasgow Live : "My understanding is that /dZai/ pronunciation for letter J is generally Scottish, and not restricted to Glasgow, or the west coast. It was a feature that really struck me when I first came up from England to work and live in Glasgow in the late 90s. But I heard it from speakers from Edinburgh/the East too."
This coincides with the idea that, while it's definitely 'jay' in Stirling and further north, the Glasgow pronunciation can be found in parts of Fife as well as the capital, alongside, interestingly, older generations down south in Lancashire, especially around Preston.
Be that as it may, the way we say the letter has become regarded, even unofficially, in the UK as the 'Glasgow pronunciation'.
It could be the case that Glaswegians, and our fellow 'jai' users hang on to what was the original pronunciation of the letter J (aligned with the French pronunciation), while others have moved on to adopt and pronounce it in its modern (Anglicised) interpretation.
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The Oxford English Dictionary (1st edition) states: "The name of the letter, now jay, was formerly jy, rhyming with I, and corresponding to French ji; this is still common in Scotland and elsewhere."
According to Joan C Beal, Professor of English Language at the University of Sheffield, this may offer an explanation.
She told Glasgow Live : "The Oxford English Dictionary is right that the Scottish pronunciation would have been more common elsewhere formerly. ‘J’ has only relatively recently been considered a separate letter of the English (and Scots) alphabet.
"Well into the 18th century, many dictionaries would have words beginning with the consonant ‘j’ in the same section as the vowel ‘i’. So it’s not surprising that it would be pronounced to rhyme with ‘i’."
Professor Beal also suggested it might be linked to how Scottish children are taught the alphabet in schools as it would not only stay with them but also be considered correct - and references a story that US border guards use this to discover whether someone is Canadian, as Canadians, like us, say ‘zed’ not ‘zee’ for the final letter.
We put this suggestion to a Glasgow primary school teacher, who said that kids in the city are taught the 'correct' pronunciation of the word - so perhaps, rather than the classroom, its a phenomenon that comes from the playground or indeed from the home, and how we hear our parents pronounce it.
Whatever the case, that weird 'jai' seems to be written into the DNA of Glaswegians, whether we like it or not - much to the amusement of those from outside the city.
So forget quizzes and bits of trivia - how can you really tell if someone is from Glasgow? Just ask them to say the Letter J.
This article was originally published on May 22, 2022.
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