![]() The pronunciation of the Semitic letter was the voiced S, like the ordinary use of Z in English, as in zodiac, raze. Whether, as seems most likely, Zeta was the name of one of the other Semitic sibilants, Zade ( Tzaddi) transferred to this by mistake, or whether the name is a new one, made in imitation of Eta (η) and Theta (θ), is disputed. The name of the Semitic symbol was Zayin, but this name, for some unknown reason, was not adopted by the Greeks, who called it Zeta. In Modern Greek, it is pronounced as /z/, as in English and French. In Semitic (Zajin) and Ancient Greek the letter was probably pronounced as /dz/ (as in Italian zeta, zero). The Greek form of Z was a close copy of the Phoenician symbol I, and the Greek inscriptional form remained in this shape throughout. ![]() George Eliot refers to the Zs being followed by & when she makes Jacob Storey say, "He thought it had only been put to finish off th' alphabet like though ampusand would ha' done as well, for what he could see." Until recent times the English alphabets used by children terminated not with Z but with & or related typographic symbols. In the 1st century BC it was, like Y, introduced again at the end, in order to represent more precisely than was before possible the value of the Greek Z or zeta, which had been previously spelt with S at the beginning and ss in the middle of words: sona = ζωνη, "belt" trapessita = τραπεζιτης, "banker". It was therefore removed from the alphabet and G was put in its place. In early Latin the sound represented by Z passed into R, and consequently the symbol became useless. 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. The American English form zee derives from an English late 17th-century dialectal form, now obsolete in England. In Canadian English (as in British English) the letter is pronounced zed and it is a point of national pride and was even featured in Molson's I Am Canadian campaign. the French zède, Spanish and Italian zeta. Other European languages use a similar form, e.g. In almost all forms of Commonwealth English, the letter is named zed, reflecting its derivation from the Greek zeta (see below). Writing perfectly in English can be tricky, even if you’re a native speaker.Template:AZ Z is the twenty-sixth and last letter of the English alphabet. 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. 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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