Thread for random inquiries (anyone may participate)

[Blastfrog]

Okay, seriously, why do some people pronounce the letter Z as "zed" instead of "zee"?

[Mr. T]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_English

[Aliotroph?]

Because we're not Americans. Your post succinctly demonstrates the lack of worldly knowledge of the average American.

[Kira]

Seriously man, even frenchies know that.

[Bucket]

Aliotroph? said:

Because we're not Americans. Your post succinctly demonstrates the lack of worldly knowledge of the average American.

You failed to answer his question, while expressing disdain that is both misdirected and disproportionate. Your post is a perfect example of the lashing out from self-hate we've come to expect of filthy foreigners.

Now perhaps we can actually discuss the origin of the term "zed", instead of pretending this is about "HURR DURR WHY DOES PEOPLE TALK DIFRENT".

[DuckReconMajor]

because too many letters rhyme with 'e'

[Blastfrog]

Aliotroph? said:

Because we're not Americans. Your post succinctly demonstrates the lack of worldly knowledge of the average American.

K!r4 said:

Seriously man, even frenchies know that.

I was already fully aware it's a British thing to do, I was just asking why over time in an age of much more globally networked communication (the internet and other technologies) that people of different cultures still pronounce something as a simple letter so wildly differently. I also wanted to know why the difference came about in the first place.

[Coraline]

These newer DW members are...interesting..

Why don't you (Sodaholic) create a thread detailing 'random thoughts/incidents/etc' instead of making a new one for seemingly useless commentary? I'm not hating, but the entertainment factor wore off a long time ago.

This way, if we want to view threads created by you discussing something potentially useless (like this one, others I can't even think of right now), it'll all be contained in one megathread.

[Jonathan]

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1632/why-do-the-british-pronounced-the-letter-z-zed

Briefly, 'zed' is the traditional form, 'zee' is a dialectal variant that was seized on by post-colonial grammarians who were seeking to promote and amplify differences between American and British English, to better define it, and by extension American language and culture in general, as new and separate.

Given the global influence of American culture, it's likely that 'zee' will win out over 'zed' in the end, even if traditionalists like myself keep saying 'Zed-Doom' until the day we die.

[DuckReconMajor]

Chu said:

These newer DW members are...interesting..

Why don't you (Sodaholic) create a thread detailing 'random thoughts/incidents/etc' instead of making a new one for seemingly useless commentary? I'm not hating, but the entertainment factor wore off a long time ago.

This way, if we want to view threads created by you discussing something potentially useless (like this one, others I can't even think of right now), it'll all be contained in one megathread.

I disagree. I admire his efforts to avoid derailing threads.

[Blastfrog]

Jonathan said:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1632/why-do-the-british-pronounced-the-letter-z-zed

Briefly, 'zed' is the traditional form, 'zee' is a dialectal variant that was seized on by post-colonial grammarians who were seeking to promote and amplify differences between American and British English, to better define it, and by extension American language and culture in general, as new and separate.

Given the global influence of American culture, it's likely that 'zee' will win out over 'zed' in the end, even if traditionalists like myself keep saying 'Zed-Doom' until the day we die.

That's interesting, thanks. :)

Another random question from me. In person, how different is American culture compared to British culture? I've never been outside of the US with the exception of Canada before the passport thing came along, so I don't know what cultures outside the US are like so much. I can kinda see what it's like in the form of media, but it's not too reliable of an indicator.

So, hypothetically, if a typical American were to just randomly be in London for the first time, what would his interactions with the locals be like? What would the locals think of him? (as a person, not by stereotyping foreigners)

[DuckReconMajor]

I went to London for a vacation back in 7th grade. Went to KFC and the tax was included in the price! I'm like whoa.

[Rayziik]

Are there even any words that "zed" is pronounced as "zed" rather than "zee"?

Or do they pronounce Zebra as "Zed-e-bra"?

[Kirby]

Well, there's Zed

:P

[Chow Yun Thin]

Similar to the zee-vs-zed debate, why is lieutenant pronounced with an 'f' sound in British English?

[Snakes]

What's the deal with British people? Why are they so weird? For some reason, they just seem so culturally different from Americans. Take chips for example, man. Like, I order fish and french fries, because I don't want fucking chips with my fish, dig?

Do they pronounce it Zed-Doom? Or do they say it ZeDoom, where the D doesn't get split up? This question extends to ZDaemon.

UK, lol!

[AndrewB]

Rayzik said:

Are there even any words that "zed" is pronounced as "zed" rather than "zee"?

Or do they pronounce Zebra as "Zed-e-bra"?

Do they pronounce Walrus as "Double-you-all-rus"?

What kind of stupid question is that?

[Mogul]

K!r4 said:

Seriously man, even frenchies know that.

It's Soda. What did you expect?

[Jonathan]

Rayzik said:

Are there even any words that "zed" is pronounced as "zed" rather than "zee"?

Or do they pronounce Zebra as "Zed-e-bra"?

Do you pronounce zero as zee-ero?

[Nomad]

I'm starting to understand why everyone gives him crap.

Rayzik said:

Are there even any words that "zed" is pronounced as "zed" rather than "zee"?

Or do they pronounce Zebra as "Zed-e-bra"?

They pronounce those words with a "zeh" sound rather than "zee." I.e. "Zeh-bra" instead of "Zee-bra."

[Creaphis]

Snakes said:

Do they pronounce it Zed-Doom? Or do they say it ZeDoom, where the D doesn't get split up? This question extends to ZDaemon.

Like this.

[GreyGhost]

Rayzik said:

Or do they pronounce Zebra as "Zed-e-bra"?

The vagaries of British English allows zebra to be pronounced as it's spelt - ze-bra.

[yellowmadness54]

I honestly dont see Soda as much annoyance.
I've only seen two (stupid) threads started by him as of late.
Oh well.

[Aliotroph?]

Bucket said:

You failed to answer his question, while expressing disdain that is both misdirected and disproportionate. Your post is a perfect example of the lashing out from self-hate we've come to expect of filthy foreigners.

Now perhaps we can actually discuss the origin of the term "zed", instead of pretending this is about "HURR DURR WHY DOES PEOPLE TALK DIFRENT".

I didn't need to answer the question. Wikipedia got there first. Besides, Canadians can't help but bash Americans. It's programmed into us from birth by the Islamo-communist Inuit leaders inside the National Re-Education Igloo.

Besides, my ridiculous reaction is the real answer to his question. Half the rest of the world is always pissed off at Americans, whether there's a good reason or not. Any of us who pronounce something differently are certainly not going to change it now, no matter how much American TV we watch.

Canada also doesn't use British English. We have our own variation that's usually closer to American English. Zebra sounds just like it does in America.

[myk]

Bucket said:
Now perhaps we can actually discuss the origin of the term "zed", instead of pretending this is about "HURR DURR WHY DOES PEOPLE TALK DIFRENT".

This doesn't explain the origins, but it does say what happened to "zed":

[DoomUK]

Snakes said:

Like, I order fish and french fries, because I don't want fucking chips with my fish, dig?

What you call a chip, we call a crisp.

Fries are fries though. Except a brand of crisps called "French Fries" to add to the confusion.

[Kira]

Sodaholic said:

I was already fully aware it's a British thing to do, I was just asking why over time in an age of much more globally networked communication (the internet and other technologies) that people of different cultures still pronounce something as a simple letter so wildly differently. I also wanted to know why the difference came about in the first place.

So why weren't you more specific in your OP? Funny.

To answer you, no matter how globalization is going, I don't see why we should all speak like americans.

[printz]

I'm not American and I pronounce "zee" when speaking English, because it's more intuitive. Happy?

I think zed comes from zet which ultimately comes from Greek zeta. I think.

Americans are most noticeably different from British by the way they pronounce their Rs.

[Phobus]

DoomUK said:

Fries are fries though. Except a brand of crisps called "French Fries" to add to the confusion.

"Fries" are chips :P


As for "How would we treat an American in London" - as a Londoner, it varies depending on the person. Usually we just overhear the accent and that's the end of it. If they've got a Texas-styled southern accent, we might start thinking Foghorn Leghorn or possibly do some impersonations. A remark to your mate along the lines of "it's a fakkin' yank!" (note cockney pronunciation of "fucking") might happen if your American is from outside of what we think qualifies as "deep south". We'll generally assume the American tourist is stupid - particularly if they're fat or use "Ohmy gawad!" at least once in the brief moment we hear them. Extra points knocked off of our preconception of their IQ if they're a blonde woman. Oddly enough, as I've met one or two Canadians now I tend to assume that a thin American-sounding person is from there.

Aside from a few preconceptions based entirely on stereotypes and accents, you are a Western human being and will be treated much like an English person (right down to laughing at your different accent, much like I would with your average Northerner, Brummie, carrot-cruncher, posh person, Scotsman, Irishman or Welshman). Unsurprisingly, this isn't an aliena planet.

[abyrvalg]

Am i the only one who pronounces z like z instead of zee/zed?
Like this (click the "listen" button on the right, not on the left):
http://translate.google.com/#en|ru|zdAaemoan --- zdaemon
http://translate.google.com/#en|ru|zdum --- zdoom