SDNR

I heard a New York reporter today spell a word with the letter Z in it.

I was surprised when he used the British "Zed" rather than the usual American "Zee".

I was wondering, do many Americans say "Zed" ....or was this just an exception.

I am fascinated with variations in the English language ....so if you want to expand this topic to different pronunciations and spelling of the English language, I would be very interested

MikeJ

Maybe he was Canadian? In any case, 'zee' comes from a now obsolete English dialect and only survives in American English, although it is apparently invading Canada.

As far as the different spellings between American and British English go, the man to blame is Noah Webster, whose work (the dictionaries which introduced the American way of spelling) were inspired not only by the inconsistencies in the then-accepted spelling of different words but also by his dislike of almost everything British...

SDNR

Thank you MikeJ, most interesting.

Anisc

I've always said Zed. The first time I heard Zee was in the american TV shows in the '80s ! On another note, there are also significant deviations in words as well. For example, do you know what the english word for bell pepper in most parts of Asia....its capsicum !

Kowalski

Zed sounds better and it is the correct way of pronouncing.

Zee...Zee Four... Argh! American English is an atrocity to my ears. We pronounce "Audee" Americans pronounce "Owreee".

SDNR

I remember seeing a documentary on the History Channel where one English visitor to the United States, in the early years after the civil war, said he found the way Americans speak to be far superior to what is heard in England -- the Americans sound their vowels better he thought.

But of course, since then, the US has developed many different accents -- just like in every English-speaking country, accents can vary greatly.

In my experience, some of the finest speakers of English I have ever heard have been people from west African countries like Ghana .......they have a beautiful clarity when they speak English.

siko

"Zee" bugs the sh** out of me. It's "Zed", period.


Yeah I head that "Zee" is invading Canada although I can only speak for eastern Canada... and no way in hell do I hear people say "Zee". Maybe the younger generations!?

Either way it's motherf***ing "Zed".

SDNR

^^Ha ha, proudly Canadian Siko.

My favourite aunt was from Toronto, sadly she died several years ago, but she hated it when people mistook her for an American -- LOL

NarutoRamen

Looks like I'm the only one here who likes Zee. Why? Because it's simple. Zed makes it sound like a word...when it shouldn't be.

For example...Zebra. it is pronounced Zee-bra, right? You wouldn't call this Zed-eebra now would you? So if it's not pronounced Zed in a word, then just leave out the F__king "D" for god sakes and just leave it as Zee.

So that's why I like it. Believe me, it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm an American. I was born in India and the way we learned it there was Zed as well, I just prefer the American way more.

notic

i think most people i've come across in canada say zed. it would be funny if the americans started saying it too though, then names like jay-z would just sound odd.