How is the letter "Z" pronounced?

usually whenever i try to pronounce this letter, i end up throwing up everywhere

@AlexW00d said:

@MikkaQ

@Canteu said:

@MikkaQ: I'm sorry but there is no Aluminum on the table of elements.

Unless you guys discovered a new element without telling anybody.

What you mean this little element right here?

Oh my giddy god you Americans have actually altered the periodic table for your dumb version of our language? Next it'll be sodum and lithum and potassum and, yeah, you get it.

The spellings of Aluminium and Aluminum have both been around since the early 1800's. The dude who named it went through three different spellings between 1807 and 1812. The first of which was Alumium, then Aluminum, and finally Aluminium. From what I can gather, both spellings were being used in Britain and the US, but eventually Aluminium became more widely used in Britain and Aluminum won out in the US. That would be where the differences in that particular word come from.

Either way, I don't know why you seem to care so much. We are not in the same country, or even the same continent. It makes perfect sense that throughout the years changes would occur, and the US would develop a dialect of the English language that differs some from the English used in Britain.

"G"ib. Not "J"ib.

F everyone that says "Jib".

Zed

When pronouncing one consonant or vowel why would you add another? Ad Bed Ced Ded Ed Fed Ged . . . Zed? Craziness.

I use both at random. 'Zee' is my current flavour.

Queens English it's pronounced "zed" as the English would say. The Americans pronounce it "zee" but in truth sounds too much like the letter "C". So I think it should be pronounced "zed".

Zed. All day, every day, Zed.

"zed", motherfucker :]

Zed and Zee are correct. I do both.

@AlexW00d said:

@Redbullet685 said:

I ain't British. Zee.

I'm not an idiot. Zed.

bahahahahahahaha

I'm watching the TV show "Lottery Changed My Life" and they have a Canadian guy on it and he was describing his car a Corvette ZR1.

Zed because its fact, see Men in Black.

I've always thought of 'zee' as a child's way to pronounce it, something you'd see on Sesame Street, 'w, x, y and zee, now I know my ABC's' you changed the pronunciation of a letter just so it could rhyme?

There is no option to say what the correct answer is.. which is that both 'zee' and 'zed' are correct, at least as far as English goes. If you are to include other languages as well then there are even more options :)

Zee.

I don't give CRAP about British accents.

@Benny said:

@CosmicQueso

"G"ib. Not "J"ib.

F everyone that says "Jib".

Not sure if serious.

Wouldn't it be stupid and ridiculous if I was?

@RazielCuts said:

Zed because its fact, see Men in Black.

I've always thought of 'zee' as a child's way to pronounce it, something you'd see on Sesame Street, 'w, x, y and zee, now I know my ABC's' you changed the pronunciation of a letter just so it could rhyme?

Sounds about right really.

@sungahymn said:

Zee.

I don't give CRAP about British accents.

Pronunciation and accents are very, very different things.

Wait, Zed completely trashes the rhyming of the alphabet song as I know it. Is there a Zed version?

Now I know my A-B...Ceds, next time won't you...pat my head.

Zee. 
 
Zed is just some villain from the Power Rangers.

Zed

@believer258 said:

@AlexW00d said:

@Redbullet685 said:

I ain't British. Zee.

I'm not an idiot. Zed.

A different accent does not an idiot make.

Zee.

An accent isn't the same thing as a dialect.

Zed.

This isn't a matter of preference.

@Hockeymask27 said:

zed like zedbra

I love you, man.

It's Zee dumb fucks

Zee, unless in the case of the ZX Spectrum then it is Zed. Only then though.

It's Zee. Like someone said, it goes Gee, Pee, Vee, Zee. H and W's pronunciations are pretty strange but Zed is 10 times worse. Flat and lift are much better than apartment and elevator though. Pants are a better term than trousers for the same reason. Metrics make more sense than the American system but driving on the right side of the road makes more sense than driving on the left and I have to imagine that the latter causes more deaths. All those words don't need those extra U's. Using the term legos while not technically proper, makes sentences simpler and avoids potential ambiguity. Also, British chips and crisps would make more sense if the two were switched and both make less sense than the American terms. I not sure why I felt the need to point all this out but there it is.

I cannot find that video where the guy calls Jay-Z Jay-Zed, but it is hilarious. Oh language, I love of it but Zed is a psycedelic clown "word" used in space. Also by the lovely British Empire. At the end of the day Zeta > Zee > Zed.

When in doubt go with whatever sounds cooler. Zed.

my surname starts with "CZ".. (german here, name is from poland) try spelling that when you're on vacation in america. i always said "like caesar and zeppelin". just gave me more puzzled looks.

Zed. He's a wizard you know.

Damn those dirty Californian primates...should have called their version Gee, their British may have been confused and called it Cee. Ged is a better name. Jed. Ded. Jed. Jedidiah. Damn you William Davis and Viola Watkins!!!!!

I'm Canadian but for some reason I still say it Zee, even when everyone around me doesn't.

@mortal_sb said:

my surname starts with "CZ".. (german here, name is from poland) try spelling that when you're on vacation in america. i always said "like caesar and zeppelin". just gave me more puzzled looks.

Starts with Cz? People seem to pronounce Czech just fine. How is it different?

@birdflu777 said:

I remember when Rush pronounced the name of their song YYZ "YY Zed" and then I remembered they were Canadian, it was pretty neat. Why's it pronounced Zed? Anyone know?

Not an answer to your question, but still.

Zed is a hipster thing right?

I say both.

ZTHYTH, but I'm a cthulhu mythos character

@Dan_CiTi said:

@mortal_sb said:

my surname starts with "CZ".. (german here, name is from poland) try spelling that when you're on vacation in america. i always said "like caesar and zeppelin". just gave me more puzzled looks.

Starts with Cz? People seem to pronounce Czech just fine. How is it different?

czarny. when people write my name, i get crazy stuff like "tschani" or "cherni". and there's a difference if you just hear a word or if you have to write it down.

@recharge330 said:

driving on the right side of the road makes more sense than driving on the left and I have to imagine that the latter causes more deaths.

Also, British chips and crisps would make more sense if the two were switched and both make less sense than the American terms.

But...how?

@mandude: Well you asked for it. It seems like there is an understood rule in society that everything hand related will favor use by the right hand over the left. This works because right handed people aren't often forced to use their left hand and left handed people become naturally more ambidextrous by having to use their right hand, so they aren't bothered as much either. In a car you must be able to access the controls in the center. The only way you are able to do this with you right hand is if you are seated on the left. If you are seated on the left you must drive on the right side of the road so you make sure you're not in danger of hitting oncoming traffic. As for the chips/crisps thing, your standard french fry cannot be nor does it resemble anything chipped. A potato chip is known for its chipping qualities, hence the name. I could go on but Mass Effect just finished installing so I don't really need to kill any more time.

Zed unless post-Dragonball.

Shit.

Had no clue that people pronounced it 'zed'.

Zee. I would know. My name's Zach.

Who the fuck says Zed?

Zorp.

@recharge330 said:

Well you asked for it. It seems like there is an understood rule in society that everything hand related will favor use by the right hand over the left. This works because right handed people aren't often forced to use their left hand and left handed people become naturally more ambidextrous by having to use their right hand, so they aren't bothered as much either. In a car you must be able to access the controls in the center. The only way you are able to do this with you right hand is if you are seated on the left. If you are seated on the left you must drive on the right side of the road so you make sure you're not in danger of hitting oncoming traffic.

It seems that UK and Ireland (being countries that drive on the left side) have significantly lower road fatalities than most of continental Europe and America (comparable countries that drive on the right side). Of course, there are many factors in car fatalities so this doesn't mean anything on it's own, but it is interesting. Having driven cars in both Ireland and America, I've never had problems with the difference. I am only really put at a disadvantage when doing precision work like drawing, writing or playing the guitar. Even using a mouse is feasible with my left hand, and by no measure would I consider myself ambidextrous.

On a side note, I would imagine that since the controls in the centre aren't as important as operating the vehicle itself, it would be better to keep the dominant hand for the more vital operations.

@recharge330 said:

As for the chips/crisps thing, your standard french fry cannot be nor does it resemble anything chipped. A potato chip is known for its chipping qualities, hence the name. I could go on but Mass Effect just finished installing so I don't really need to kill any more time.

A standard fry is something that was chipped out of a potato. If you were to compare wood chippings to chips, they would be comparable in size. Crisps are but slivers, (hardly chips), hence their crispy textures when cooked.

The letter Z is pronounced C. You big bag of dirty potatoes!

@AlexW00d said:

@Redbullet685 said:

I ain't British. Zee.

I'm not an idiot. Zed.

Yes, because clearly this is a matter of intelligence not regional dialect.

But really, can anyone explain this to me? Zee. Gee. Pee. Bee. Tee. No other letter in the alphabet needs a consonant for pronunciation. Why Z? It just doesn't make any sense.

And if anyone does want to explain it to me, leave the anti-American-English bullshit to a minimum. Judging by some of the reactions to this thread, this may be difficult.