![]() ![]() Lexical surveys in the region repeatedlyshow a higher proportion of young people with "zee" than of older people.In a Toronto survey in 1979, two-thirds of the 12-year-olds completed theirrecitation of the alphabet with "zee" but only 8% of the adults did. ![]() Nevertheless, some children in Southern Ontario learn the American nameand use it for several years. American immigrants to the region, numbering severalhundred annually, routinely report that their name for Z is one of thefirst things they change after arriving there, because calling it "zee"unfailingly draws comments from the people they are talking to. In Southern Ontario, the pronunciation of Z as "zee" is stigmatized,as might be expected. One of the small matters is the name of the last letter of the alphabet.'Z' is called "zed" everywhere in the world, not only in English but alsoin French, German, and most other languages, except in the United States,where it is called "zee". Their resistance involves matters bothlarge and small. The first example is probably more interesting socially than linguistically.In Southern Ontario, the southernmost part of Canada and also the mostpopulous, the proximity of the United States on three sides makes the Americanpresence a constant factor, and one that Canadians feel compelled to resistin order to keep their autonomy. Its elimination or reductionin the speech of individuals normally takes place without conscious efforton their part, and the linguistic effect of the change is minor, but itis no doubt one of the dozens of miniscule changes that contributes tothe perception of their maturity in the view of parents, teachers, andother adults.Ĥ.6.1.1. Thus the early variant might bethought of as a marker of children's speech. ![]() The that I willcite here take place in adolescence. Very few changes of this kind have been reported. Theyare, then, regular and predictable changes that might be thought of asmarking a developmental stage in the individual's life. And just so you know, we dont say Zee-bra, we say Zeb-bra.Age-graded changes are usually thought of as changes in the use of avariant that recur at a particular age in successive generations. You have an argument if your talking about Americans i guess, but in a large majority of the world it is pronounced Zed not Zee. "I say Zed because in Australian and we speak the Kings English, also known as British English or English English. There are some fluky ones like M, but nothing as big as the disparity between how the letter Zee is pronounced in words and how it is said. For example - C: cinnamon, cest, cesspool. I've done a quick mental run-through of the alphabet, and for every other letter there's a equal pronunciation of letter in word. You don't say Zed-bra, for example, you say Zee-bra. But I don't know of any instance in a word in the English language where you would pronounce the letter Z as Zed. I understand the historical reason for pronouncing it "Zed" - it comes from the Greek, et cetera. Just wondering why for me there's such a large difference between the British pronunciation of the letter and the way it's implemented in words that it seems a little said: " I hate to be one of those people that starts a million threads a day, but I'm wondering what you guyzes think about the letter Z, correctly pronounced Zee. This wasn't meant as an attack on anybody or their culture, by the way. Can't find any evidence pertaining to that though so I think that might be fabricated. Never heard of the Nissan 350 Zed, although, again, I've heard from some people that that's how the Japanese intended it to be said. I've heard everyone refer to it as the 350 Zee, too (for the Nissan 350Z, of course). Needless to say, he learned from his mistake. I remember a British friend who once said Dragon Ball Zed. Only Kiefer Sutherland says noo-kyoo-lar (if you watch 24, you'll know that for some reason he went from saying noo-klee-er in season 2 through to 5, and then he started saying noo-kyoo-lar). Noo-klee-er is what most people say, and is accepted as the correct pronunciation. :) I've never heard anybody say noo-clear. ![]()
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