"zee" or "zed"?
- Thread starter NY Hoya
- Start date
All over the south. I stayed in Baden-Wurttemberg (sp?), a small town on the Swiss border called Waldshut-Tiengen. Actually a couple of towns with the same administration. Travelled to Stuttgart, Freiburg, Fussen (where Neuschwanstein is), the Bodensee, several places in Switzerland and spent a little more than a week in Munich.
I've also been to Frankfurt and Bonn on business, but didn't get to see too much of those cities.
Perhaps it has something to do with the Spanish influence in the US? I've noticed that in a number of places where US English differentiates from the English used in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Aus. etc. there is a similarity to Spanish.
For example, English uses the spelling "favour". The Spanish translation is "favor" which is also the American spelling.
One may also note that UK English derives alot of its vocabulary and spellings from French (any linguist could fill you in on the history behind this.)
Hitro
Feistus Raclettus
That's alot. And you even know the spelling of the state. I'm honestly impressed, the forgetting the language thing must be overexaggerated. 
dannyevilcat
DESTROYER OF FURNITURE
Hmmm. Interesting, and it sounds plausible
Xiahou-Dun
Retired Super Hero
I always thought the American version of English derived more from German? Or I might have it backwards...German derived from the (Queens) English...... and some of the American English came about the same way.
I would say most American English is a combination of all the immigrats to the US.
I pronounce the letter "z" as "zee", but have heard people in the Southern US use "zed". Like "o" ..."ohhhh" being used as 'ooot'
chiefpaco
Emperor
"Zee" rhymes with the rest of the alphabet song, but I still say "zed".
Pillager
League of Empire Loyalist
Most of what we now call American English is only what British English was back in the 17/18 centuries. Honor, color, favor, etc, were spelt the 'American' way here before we colonised the New World, and the emigrants merely took that over with them. Down the years, however, the spelling in Britain has changed, whilst in the States it has remained true to the original. What we think of as typically American phrases, such as 'I guess', actually go back hundreds of years in Britain, but just haven't been used here for a couple of centuries. Apparently, the phrase 'I guess' has been found in English texts dating from the 14th Century.
This is true in other things as well. For example, the British pint has 20 fl. ounces, but the American only 16, and the American ton is 2000 pounds, but the British ton is 2240 pounds. This is because the American version of imperial weights is based on the Queen Anne system (early 1700s), but the British system was changed slightly in the 18th and 19th centuries. So before we British criticise (another example - used to be criticize in England, as it is in the States) Americans for spelling and measuring things wrongly, we should remember that many of the Americanisms exist only because they exported the contemporary fashions of 17th and 18th century England, and haven't changed whilst we have.
As for 'zee'/'zed', I don't know.
And here endeth the first lesson.
This is true in other things as well. For example, the British pint has 20 fl. ounces, but the American only 16, and the American ton is 2000 pounds, but the British ton is 2240 pounds. This is because the American version of imperial weights is based on the Queen Anne system (early 1700s), but the British system was changed slightly in the 18th and 19th centuries. So before we British criticise (another example - used to be criticize in England, as it is in the States) Americans for spelling and measuring things wrongly, we should remember that many of the Americanisms exist only because they exported the contemporary fashions of 17th and 18th century England, and haven't changed whilst we have.
As for 'zee'/'zed', I don't know.
And here endeth the first lesson.
G-Man
A One Man's War
I don't use the letter for moral reasons, but if I'll decide to use it I'll say *ee
Ren
Communist Nazi
I pronounce it as zed.
I also spell H as haitch, despite my teachers' efforts in Primary school
Eh as for Ypsilon, Epsilon is a Greek letter so...
I also spell H as haitch, despite my teachers' efforts in Primary school
Eh as for Ypsilon, Epsilon is a Greek letter so...
Simon Darkshade
Mysterious City of Gold
One pronounces it as "zed", and "aitch", having proper breeding and education. 
(And 'pronounce' is properly said as pronunce, among others.)
(And 'pronounce' is properly said as pronunce, among others.)
Zed for me because I learned it that way in my english lessons, it is more or less equal to the german spelling and there is no danger of confusing it with "C"
knowltok2
Deity
I say Zee.
Confusing it with C?
B = Bee
C = See
D = Dee
E = Ee
P = Pee
T = Tee
V = Vee
Z = Zee
I would think that you would confuse it with a lot more than C.
It amazes me the things that are out there to learn. I know a fair amount about the world, a smattering here, a dollup there, but I never knew that anyone pronounced Z as zed. Well, I always say that you learn something new everyday, and now I don't have to try anymore.
Dralix
Killer of threads
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2001
- Messages
- 2,407
That's what I was taught in (Canadian) school. It may have been in American History, but I really don't remember. The teacher told us that after the Revolution, in order to "distance themselves" from England, Americans changed some spellings and pronunciations. Like dropping the "u" in words like colour, neighbour, etc.
For all I know it could have been just a little antecdote with no truth to it whatsoever.
docceh
Iron Maiden Fan!
I pronounce it "Z"
I have one of those of my own!
I've been told that just after the revolution, the American government considered using German as their official language for the same reason.
I'm sure that someone here from America will be able to clarify?
