Why do those crazy Canadians say "zed" instead of "z"?

[Red]

I work in the intermodal business... lots of rail contains (chassis) end with the letter "z". Whenever a Canadian calls in, they say "z" as "zed."

Do you Canadians do this?

Do you call it the Nissan 350"zed" ?

do you end the alphabet with "zed"?

 

[Ryan]

The English do this too.

 

[Bulk Beef]

To give us one more thing to make fun of them for. As if we needed it.

 

[WhiteKnight]

Some eastern Europeans too.

 

[Red]

Originally posted by: rbloedow
The English do this too.

Crazy!!

=)

Do they call it the Nissan 350"zed" ? Seems so strange to me. I asked a Canadian on the phone why he says Zed and he said it's just a regional thing. "Ey, I dunno, we just say Zed up 'ere."

 

[jadinolf]

I'm not English and I say Zed.

It's also a ham radio thing.

 

[GTaudiophile]

On Top Gear, they refer to the BMW Z4 as the "Zed" 4.

 

[Lonyo]

Why do Americans say zee?

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Why do Americans say zee?

Was? Ze Germans zay zee!

 

[WobbleWobble]

Isn't the US the only country that says it "zee"?

And yes, I say 350zed and I'm from Canada.

Hey....!
I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader,
and I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dogsled,
and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really, really nice.
I have a Prime Minister,
not a President.
I speak English and French,
NOT American!
and I pronounce it 'ABOUT',
NOT 'A BOOT'.
I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack.
I believe in peace keeping, NOT policing.
DIVERSITY, NOT assimilation,
(louder ..)
AND THAT THE BEAVER IS A TRULY PROUD AND NOBLE ANIMAL.
I KNOW THAT A TOQUE IS A HAT,
A CHESTERFIELD IS A COUCH,
AND IT IS PRONOUCED 'ZED' NOT 'ZEE', 'ZED'!!!
CANADA IS THE SECOND LARGEST LANDMASS IN THE WORLD!
THE FIRST NATION OF HOCKEY!
AND THE BEST PART OF NORTH AMERICA!
MY NAME IS JOE!!
AND ... I AM ... C A N A D I A N !

 

[Scouzer]

I've never said zed. I'm Canuck.

 

[Stark]

parce qu'ils sont Canadien, garçon idiot

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Why do Americans say zee?

I prefer 'zed', 'zee' is to easily confused with 'see' (letter 'C').

 

[imported_yovonbishop]

the only place I recall it being referred to as "Zed" is in that All Saints song 'never ever' .. I never quite knew what she was saying or why but now I see that it's not uncommon

 

[melly]

"zee" sounds wrong.

ZED 0wns j00

 

[jwells777]

Not just the Canadians...South Africans do too. Makes more sense to me, but you know the saying:
"When in Rome...Do as the Romans"

 

[simms]

ZED... and yes, Canadian here.

 

[rh71]

I knew it... damn Brits!

 

[yhelothar]

cuz canadians are canucks, and french pronounces z as zed...
so there you go..

 

[deftron]

We contract Zed into Z, but it's still one syllable

They contract "know what I'm sayin'?" into "eh?"


Guess speaking Canadian is more effecient...

 

[GreatBarracuda]

Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
Isn't the US the only country that says it "zee"?

And yes, I say 350zed and I'm from Canada.

Hey....!
I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader,
and I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dogsled,
and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really, really nice.
I have a Prime Minister,
not a President.
I speak English and French,
NOT American!
and I pronounce it 'ABOUT',
NOT 'A BOOT'.
I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack.
I believe in peace keeping, NOT policing.
DIVERSITY, NOT assimilation,
(louder ..)
AND THAT THE BEAVER IS A TRULY PROUD AND NOBLE ANIMAL.
I KNOW THAT A TOQUE IS A HAT,
A CHESTERFIELD IS A COUCH,
AND IT IS PRONOUCED 'ZED' NOT 'ZEE', 'ZED'!!!
CANADA IS THE SECOND LARGEST LANDMASS IN THE WORLD!
THE FIRST NATION OF HOCKEY!
AND THE BEST PART OF NORTH AMERICA!
MY NAME IS JOE!!
AND ... I AM ... C A N A D I A N !

Way to lay the smackdown WobbleWobble! And YES I AM CANADIAN!

 

[jfall]

I used to say `zed` as this is the way I was taught in school. I pretty much always use `zee` now because I only deal with Americans when at work.

 

[bunker]

I know zed is french for z, so I can understand Canadians saying it, but the English?

 

[DanTMWTMP]

first time i knew about this....never heard it in person nor on TV...

now i'm going to annoy my friends by saying zed

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: jfall
I used to say `zed` as this is the way I was taught in school. I pretty much always use `zee` now because I only deal with Americans when at work.

So when you learned the alphabet song it was A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y and ZED now I've said my ABCs next time won't you sing w/ me??? wtf? that doesn't rhyme.