7/26/2023 0 Comments Z pronounced zed or zee![]() However, the change has been far less pronounced than in other examples: change in preference for the term couch over chesterfield, or gutters over eavestroughs, has been more acute. ![]() Since then, preference for zee has been on the rise, while zed has been on the decline. Between 72 and 79 per cent of Canadians said zed, while 11 to 15 per cent said zee the remaining respondents said either zed or zee. Scargill, zed was preferred by English-speakers across Canada - except in Newfoundland. Eventually, zed gained preference over zee.Īccording to a 1974 linguistic study by M.H. In the end, education reform led by Egerton Ryerson in the 1840s standardized school textbooks in anglophone Canada West (Ontario), settling on British books and removing American textbooks from classrooms ( see Curriculum Development). Chambers cites an 1846 letter to the editor of the Kingston Herald in which a man called Harris complains that, “The instructor of youth, who when engaged in teaching the elements of the English language, direct them to call that letter ze, instead of zed, are teaching them error.” William Canniff, an amateur historian and contemporary, noted “the presence of American teachers and school books” - including a spelling book by Noah Webster - through which Canadian students learned the “peculiarities of American spelling and pronunciation.” The degree to which American teachers and textbooks influenced Canadian English is debateable, as British textbooks were more popular. Still, evidence suggests that children were taught to say zee in school. ![]() But that was not always the case.ĭuring the Victorian era (1837–1901), both zee and zed were used in present-day Ontario however, promoters of “the Queen’s English” found such examples of North American English to be vulgar or even rude. Zed is perhaps the most iconic instance of Canadians preferring the British term to the American. For the most part, however, Canadian English follows the American influence, with Canadians preferring flashlight to torch and diaper to nappy, for example. While British and American English have distinct vocabularies, Canadian English vocabulary is informed by both. Others argue that zee follows the rhyme pattern of the “Alphabet Song” - copyrighted in Boston in 1835 - making the song, and the alphabet, easier to learn. Some argue that Americans sought to distinguish themselves from the British, particularly as they fought for their independence ( see American Revolution). While different pronunciations for the letter were used in the United States, the famed American lexicographer Noah Webster wrote in An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828) that, “It is pronounced zee.” The motivation behind Americans adopting zee is debated. Regardless, zee made its way to the British colonies in North America. It’s thought that zee was last used in England during the late 17th century however, usage is difficult to trace, because pronunciations for letters were not often written down. The earliest citation is from a 1677 language textbook, A New Spelling Book by Thomas Lye, a Nonconformist minister and teacher in London, England. The pronunciation zee is a 17th-century variant of zed. The earliest citation for zed dates to 15th-century Middle English: “ zed, which is the laste lettre of the a-b-c.” In fact, Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) includes the entry: “ zed, more commonly izzard or uzzard” ( see Early Dictionaries). ![]() There were many historic names for the letter Z, including zad, zard, ezed, ezod, izod, izzard and uzzard. According to The Canadian Oxford Dictionary (2nd edition), the word zed is derived from the French word for the same letter, zède, as well as from the Latin and Greek word for the letter zeta.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |