The Problem with Z
Recently the letter Z has been rather annoying me.
I am British and grew up in London but for the last 5 weeks I have been over the pond in the grand old USA.
I have always pronounced Z as Zed but over here it’s called Zee. Why? I should just accept it. I can accept different cultures beliefs and pretty much everything else except the pronunciation of the letter Z!
To my joy I discovered that Canada say Zed. Horray I thought, then somebody pointed out to me that like the USA they say Zeebra and not Zedbra like I’m used too.
I just don’t know where to turn or what to do.
I have also always maintained that words such as Subsidised should be spelt with the S and not the Z but in recent weeks or blogging I have had to swallow my belief and use Z to appease the dreaded red underline of the spelling check.
I’ll make it a point to just accept it from now. I may even start saying Zee for my short while left here!
Well I’m glad I got that off my chest 
Popularity: 18% [?]
No related posts.
July 22nd, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Language is a funny thing… Here in Canada it is ZED and not ZEE. As for the red underlining… I just ignore it. Some other words we spell differently are:
Canadian spelling is on the left..
centre center
behaviour behavior
Oh well - I refuse to give up my Canadian spelling rights to the red underline thingy!!!!
July 22nd, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Just so that not all is lost with us Americans, I appreciate the Zed and generally use it in place of Zee. And, for that matter, the spelling of neighbour and centre…
It might have something to do with the fact that I know a lot of people who use Commonwealth English…
Sephyroth
http://www.sephyroth.net
July 23rd, 2007 at 1:32 am
Aah yes, the battle of the Englishes!
This is an issue many of us come across, especially when you start frequenting the net. I have chosen to stick to my “commonwealth” English roots because that’s what I’m comfortable with. As far as the American version of things is concerned, I am perfectly fine with accepting different cultures and beliefs, but I don’t see why I need to change mine in the process.
So, how do you deal with American Englishisms?
1) Ignore the red underlines and “use the Force, Luke“
2) Switch the spellcheck dictionary in your browser or word processor to UK English. There you go, the old red underlines have disappeared to be replaced by new ones!
July 23rd, 2007 at 9:24 am
That’s funny! I can’t stand hearing Zee either! My last name begins with a Z, lol, lucky me…
Thankfully I’m Canadian so it’s pronounced Zed.
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Ha Ha,
Didn’t realise I would get so much support or even any comments at all!
Well, I really don’t mind Zee that much, I just like to rant a little every now and then.
July 24th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Don’t forget labour and colour!
September 10th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/ize
September 10th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Hey thanks for the link anom,
Very interesting reading.