The letter Z is pronounced as ZED in he UK and all commonwealth countries, then why Americans say it Zee
What do they call letter "G"?
If it is phonetic, then shouldnt they call all senteances and worlds should be pronounced phonetically.
2007-01-20 01:59:19 · 16 answers · asked by Eyedoc 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Rumour has it that it started with the alphabet song. They got to 'Z' (zed) and couldn't think of anything to rhyme it with, so they changed it to 'zee'- that's my rumour.
2007-01-20 03:31:12 · answer #1 · answered by cymry3jones 7 · 8⤊ 11⤋
many things are pronounced differently in the U.S. from U.K. countries
schedule
vitamins
weekend
jaguar
etc
also words are spelled differently
color
colour etc
recognize
recognise etc
Elizabeth
Elisabeth etc
also some words in U.K. double the l before some words ending in er and we do not
it is just the way language evolved over time in these countries
that is where the expression separation by a common language comes from
no reason for some people here to get their panties in a bunch over it
btw
countries that speak spanish in the western hemisphere i.e. mexico central and south america pronounce words differently than they do in spain and french speaking canadians speak differently from people in france so it is not unique to english speaking people
2007-01-20 02:11:34 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
From Wikipedia:
The letter Z is the twenty-sixth and the last letter in the Latin Alphabet.
In almost all dialects of English other than American English, the letter is named zed /zɛd/, reflecting its derivation from the Greek zeta (see below). Other European languages use a similar form, e.g. the French zède, German tset, Spanish, Catalan and Italian zeta, and Dutch zet. The American English form zee /ziː/ derives from an English late 17th-century dialectal form, now obsolete in England (the letter rhymes with "V" in the "Alphabet song" nursery rhyme). Another English dialectal form is izzard, which dates from the mid 18th-century, probably deriving from French et zède meaning and z, or else from s hard.
G, in america, rhymes with Z. Its pronounced "gee."
2007-01-20 02:04:29 · answer #3 · answered by Vita 4 · 15⤊ 3⤋
BCDEGPTV all rhyme, and Z wanted to join the -ee party.
2014-04-29 00:09:50 · answer #4 · answered by LeAnimeNerd 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
everyone pronounces things differently such as the english in most words add an r when they say words with an 'a' in. Where Americans do actually say the letter 'a' so perhaps we are wrong and they are correct. This Question always comes up its just how it is.
2007-01-20 02:09:40 · answer #5 · answered by Vixz06 4 · 1⤊ 6⤋
Mmmm funny that isn't it? My kids have some toys with American voices which they won't play with because they are forever correcting the ZEE to Zed.
2007-01-20 02:03:02 · answer #6 · answered by Roxley x 3 · 9⤊ 4⤋
Probably for the same reason that in the UK, the word cat is written with a C (see) and not with a K (kay).
2007-01-20 02:07:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 11⤋
uuummmm......?? why do Americans say alot of the things we say....kinda funny huh?
2007-01-20 02:04:53 · answer #8 · answered by CO#1 3 · 3⤊ 5⤋
it just boils down to difference, let the Americans pronounce it they way they see fit!
2007-01-20 02:05:56 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 10⤊ 11⤋
it's up to them to decide
besides
why is it called american english----cause it's different
!!!
2007-01-20 02:07:57 · answer #10 · answered by jeffy v 2 · 13⤊ 6⤋