![]() ![]() But it was mainly used as part of the expression “from A to izzard,” and was seldom used by itself.īuy Pat’s books at a local store or. In Samuel Johnson’s time, the letter was often called “izzard” or “uzzard,” and in fact “izzard” survived in odd pocket of the U.S. “Zed” and “zee” aren’t the only versions on record, though. The pronunciation “zed” for the letter “z” entered English in the 1400s, borrowed from the Middle French zède, which in turn was derived from zeta, the Latin and Greek name for the letter. And it was probably helped along by Noah Webster’s preference for “zee” in his influential American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). One might speculate that the “zee” pronunciation was influenced by the parallel pronunciations “bee,” “cee,” “dee,” and so on. Mencken, in his book The American Language, says that the standard pronunciation “zed” became “zee” in the United States sometime in the 18th century, but he doesn’t go into why this happened. Still, if you are trying to capture the way some individuals speak, you can use zee for American English and zed for British English. As a writer, you would be more likely to use the letter itself or the IPA in writing. The standard pronunciation in Britain and in all the old British Commonwealth nations is “zed.” Zee and Zed are two different ways to pronounce the name of the letter Z out loud. My cousin is from Vancouver and it makes me giggle whenever I hear him say that.Ī: Where the pronunciation of the last letter of the alphabet is concerned, we in the United States are the odd ones out. The name of the letter Z is pronounced zed in British English as opposed to zee in American English, though the words are normally only spelled out when noting. Writing perfectly in English can be tricky, even if you’re a native speaker.Q: I was just wondering if you knew why the letter “Z” is pronounced “zee” by Americans and “zed” by Canadians. Regardless of which pronunciation you use, people will usually know which letter you’re referring to! But, keep in mind that zed is technically the correct version in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Canada, India, Australia, and New Zealand, and zee is technically correct in the United States. While zee is only the standardized pronunciation of Z in American English, with the popularity of The Alphabet Song, as well as the popularity of American television shows and films across the world, zee is now sometimes used and accepted in other English-speaking countries. It’s said that zee most likely came about because it rhymes with other letter pronunciations in the English alphabet (e.g., e, d, c, b, g, and p). Zee became the standard way to pronounce Z in the United States in the 19th century. It’s only in American English that it’s pronounced as zee, with Candian English sometimes being the exception, depending on which option the speaker prefers. In England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia, India, Canada ( usually), and New Zealand, Z is pronounced as zed. But it’s also used in almost every English-speaking country. Zed is widely known to be used in British English. Zed is widely known to be used in British English. You might have heard Z pronounced as zed and zee. ![]() There usually isn’t much variation in how to pronounce letters in the alphabet – apart from the letter Z. When you’re learning English as a second language, you have a lot to contend with. Is the Letter “Z” Pronounced “Zee” or “Zed”?
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