Pronunciation of "Z"

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Doug Herr said:
This was not my experience (2020), but I will say that the willingness and effort to communicate in whatever manner was first class, and I did my best to learn some words and phrases in Japanese.
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Could be things have changed especially with younger generations…I haven't even there since 1984. I also learned some common words and phrases when I was there…it's always been my custom to do that so as to prevent being the overbearing rude American.
 
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Here you go team a quote straight from an authorative source (Wikipedia ☺️)

“In most English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, the letter's name is zed /zɛd/, reflecting its derivation from the Greek letter zeta (this dates to Latin, which borrowed Y and Z from Greek), but in American English its name is zee /ziː/, analogous to the names for B, C, D, etc., and deriving from a late 17th-century English dialectal form.[2]”

Both versions seem to be correct. And from there it is what our ‘ears’ become used to.
 
This is a good example of why it might be good to add a chit chat forum here. OK to be about anything or just to shoot the breeze or banter, which everybody likes to do. That way the general photo discussion can still be about photography. Of course maybe that's the way Steve likes it, for general photo discussion to be looser and more of an anything goes kind of situation?
 
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Given that my last name begins with Z....I deal with this a lot :) I always say "Zee" but sometimes when on the phone with a customer service agent from who knows where, I spell it out "Zed"... to avoid confusion (although usually they are still confused!)
 
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I'm just a dumb ole retired engineer but when mom taught me the ABC's 70+ years ago it was .....W, X, Y, Z, not W, X, Y, Zed.
Admittedly, I do have a hard time pronouncing some words, and evidently that includes pronouncing the alphabet ??? :unsure:
It's still a Zebra, and not a Zedbra right?
I know I don't get out much and default to what Mom taught me...(Zee just flows along with the rest of the alphabet).
No insults intended towards anyone who says Zed (and who find Zee sounds weird). ;) :cool:
 
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Yup, what he said ^^^^^^^
In my 70+ years on the planet, like Geoff's mom, my mom taught me Z as well as my teachers, (back then they actually taught us things we needed to be successful in life).
It's been Z since then, and it's going to be Z to me as long as I have the privilege of being here.
Different strokes for different folks right, they also taught us that back then LOL.
Have a great day, get some good shots with your Z, or Zed, or whatever you want to call it, just keep on clickin' that "electronic" shutter 😎

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over and out
 
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bleirer said:
This is a good example of why it might be good to add a chit chat forum here. OK to be about anything or just to shoot the breeze or banter, which everybody likes to do. That way the general photo discussion can still be about photography. Of course maybe that's the way Steve likes it, for general photo discussion to be looser and more of an anything goes kind of situation?
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I'm pretty happy with the way it goes here. It's mostly on-topic and we don't have to shuffle threads like this off to a different forum. In addition, I've seen more than a few chit chat areas run off the rails and become toxic, so I'm inclined to avoid that here.
 
Steve said:
I'm pretty happy with the way it goes here. It's mostly on-topic and we don't have to shuffle threads like this off to a different forum. In addition, I've seen more than a few chit chat areas run off the rails and become toxic, so I'm inclined to avoid that here.
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If you like it that's what counts.
 
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I learned a few Japanese words and phrases by watching Japanese anime cartoons. Also, watching foreign movies and watching the captions is a good way to learn a foreign language. I know how to say thank you in 12 different languages. :)
 
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According to my Japanese guide in Osaka an "I" is always pronounced like a long "e", that is "ee". So in Japan, the name of the company would be pronounced "N-ee-kon, but as long as your listener knows what you are talking about, does it really matter how you pronounce it?
 
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Replytoken said:
Then again, how are we to pronounce Nikon - "nye-kon", "nee-kon" or "nee-kone".

And speaking of the English, isn't it amazing that we have the US and the UK - two countries divided by a common language! :rolleyes:

--Ken
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A long time ago in Japan (1971), a young lady in a store sold me a "nee-kor" lens. :) That's the way I usually say it.
 
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As a South American (Texas) I’ve always used Zee. But I have a Z in the middle of my last name and if don’t follow the letter with an “as in zebra” the person I’m spelling it for will use “C” nine times out of ten.
 
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