The Letter 'Z'



An American reader wrote to ask how my father pronounced ‘NZ,’ an abbreviation he often uses for New Zealand. Is it pronounced EnZee or EnZed they asked?

 Growing up in New Zealand I was aware that American’s pronounce their Z as Zee, and not Zed, the way we do in New Zealand. Oddly enough, when I came here, I don’t remember being particularly struck by the way American’s pronounced the letter; perhaps because it isn’t really something that comes up in conversation. In fact, unless you watch a lot of Sesame Street, you could miss it all together.

 So when putting together Letters From New Zealand, it didn’t even occur to me to add any explanation—one way or the other—about the pronunciation of the abbreviation for the country.

 But to answer the question, yes, ‘NZ’ when referring to New Zealand, is pronounced EnZed.

 Or at least it is by us Kiwi’s.

Amazon: Letters From New Zealand: Farming, Fishing and Golf

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