# Are Americans really unaware the letter "Z" is pronounced "Zed" in the UK/Australia/NZ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2013, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399 "2013-05-03T09:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/41 "2013-05-03T14:04:50Z")
Damn simulposts! Why did I spend so much time in Google Directions? ☹ Anyway, to answer my own rhetorical question: Yes, I do suspect that most Americans consciously believe Canada to be a US ghetto. ---
**Author:** ![hussle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f4b2a3/32.png) [@hussle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hussle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/42 "2013-05-03T14:05:22Z")
Windsor ON to Jacksonville FL 1,012 Miles. So I would say the vast majority of Americans live well within 1000 miles of a foreign country. One that even has a different official language! Mind blowing, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/43 "2013-05-03T14:09:28Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > As if you have the first clue what an “average American” knows. Damn right. Nobody remembers Xema. New Zealand is where orcs live. [QUOTE=RememberMe] We don’t need a passport to experience cultural diversity. Not trying to get all defensive here, but you seem to equate having a passport to a level of cultural knowledge. Your average American town will have resturants influenced by dozens of cultures, as do the meals a family prepares at home. Here in America, different cultures come to US. [/QUOTE] Yes. As they come to everywhere else. Nobody in the UK thinks they understand Indian culture because they eat a lot of curry. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/44 "2013-05-03T14:34:14Z")
Canadians are just Americans who say Zed. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/45 "2013-05-03T14:39:56Z")
I’m not sure if the OP is correct. When I go to Outback Steakhouse, they say Zee, not Zed. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/46 "2013-05-03T14:41:01Z")
Here’s OED’s take. > [@](#): > > The name given to the letter in England (presumably since the Norman Conquest) has been zed n., q.v., or one of its variants, †zad n., †zard, izzard n., ezod, uzzard. With the disyllabic forms, which survive dialectally, cf. French edez, ? for ezed (Coyfurelly, 14th cent.), ézed (Claude de Saint-Lien, 1580), Prov. izedo, Catalan idzeta, app. from popular Latin \*idzēta, \< Greek ζῆτα /ˈdzɛːta/ . The names ez (Gil, Logonomia Anglica, 1619) and ze (C. Butler, Eng. Gram., 1633) do not seem to represent actual usage, but are (like ya and yi as names of y) systematic inventions of these phonetic writers. The name zee n., now standard in the United States of America, appears to have had some early currency in England. Shakespeare, as ever, has an appropriate line. _Thou whoreson zed! Thou unnecessary letter!_ From _King Lear_, II, ii ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/47 "2013-05-03T14:55:59Z")
By the time I heard Sector ZZ Plural Z Alpha on the old TV series, it was familiar. But I read the book first and didn’t hear it that way in my head. I probably should have, because I knew by then, but I just didn’t. I wonder if you’re more likely to have picked it up the more you read. > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > . . . if your question is “do Americans really not know X?” the answer is yes. Yeah, if you’re talking about some random American, that’s the was smart money would bet. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/48 "2013-05-03T15:02:56Z")
_“…Are Americans really unaware the letter “Z” is pronounced “Zed” in the UK/Australia/NZ?..”_ Do Australians and New Zealanders know that in the US “Z” is pronounced “Zee?” ---
**Author:** ![Brendone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@Brendone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brendone)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/49 "2013-05-03T15:09:46Z")
I live in Canada, and work in a job the required me to deal with a lot of shipping from the US. When I am giving our address, the postal code ends in Z. After giving the whole address I’d have to start over because they heard the last letter wrong and couldn’t figure it out. I thought that was bad but one of our tech reps had a Z in his last name and when he spelled out his email address he got the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/50 "2013-05-03T15:11:33Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Also as I mentioned in the other thread, what about the quote from _Pulp Fiction_: “Zed’s dead, baby”? If you don’t know Zed = Z, isn’t that a pretty nonsensical name? You know, I’ve known “zed” = “zee” most my life, but I’ve never thought of the name in _Pulp Fiction_ to refer to the letter. It just sounds like a typical “hillbilly” kind of name like Cletus or Zeke, and I think that’s the primary impression the writers were trying to evoke. I’m not sure what significance naming him after the last letter of the alphabet would be. Maybe there is a secondary meaning that was intended, but dollars to donuts the writers were going for the country bumpkin connotation. And, sure enough, Googling “country bumpkin” names gets me [this list](http://nameberry.com/blog/tag/country-bumpkin-names), which includes “Zed.” ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/51 "2013-05-03T15:19:01Z")
> [@Brendone](#): > > I live in Canada, and work in a job the required me to deal with a lot of shipping from the US. When I am giving our address, the postal code ends in Z. After giving the whole address I’d have to start over because they heard the last letter wrong and couldn’t figure it out. I thought that was bad but one of our tech reps had a Z in his last name and when he spelled out his email address he got the same thing. Have you considered saying it the American way when talking to Americans? That might alleviate the confusion a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/52 "2013-05-03T15:25:53Z")
Y’know, Canada really is culturally very similar to the US in most regards… But one of the ways in which they’re different is, in fact, the topic of this thread. So for purposes of this thread, I don’t think it’s really accurate to say that most Americans live over a thousand miles away from any foreign culture. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/53 "2013-05-03T15:29:54Z")
> [@Skara\_Brae](#): > > …a Canadian character used to call their power source a “Zed”-P-M while everyone else called it a ZPM. So… everyone called it the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/54 "2013-05-03T15:32:59Z")
I’m used to it because I know so many Brits, Aussies etc over here. I believe I was aware of it while still in the US through reading, but I don’t think I ever heard it until I came over here. Maybe did in film, dunno; if so, I don’t remember it. I agree too that the Zed in _Pulp Fiction_ would be short for some hillbilly name like Zedakiah. No way he’d be using Zed for Zee. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/55 "2013-05-03T15:46:45Z")
The OP’s incredulity is absurd. Having lived a long time in both Britain ans America I can vouch for the fact that there are not only many little details of British English usage that most Americans are unaware of, there are also many details of American usage that are unfamiliar to most British people, and this is despite the fact that British people are exposed far more to American media entertainments than vice-versa. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/56 "2013-05-03T15:51:01Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > The OP’s incredulity is absurd. Having lived a long time in both Britain ans America I can vouch for the fact that there are not only many little details of British English usage that most Americans are unaware of, there are also many details of American usage that are unfamiliar to most British people, and this is despite the fact that British people are exposed far more to American media entertainments than vice-versa. I think the _Pulp Fiction_ example may be a good one of that. To most (I would think) Americans, it’s a stereotypical hillbilly name. Judging from this thread, it appears that usage isn’t well-known in Britain. (And why should it be?) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/57 "2013-05-03T15:57:31Z")
> [@](#): > > We don’t need a passport to experience cultural diversity. Not trying to get all defensive here, but you seem to equate having a passport to a level of cultural knowledge. Your average American town will have resturants influenced by dozens of cultures, as do the meals a family prepares at home. > > Here in America, different cultures come to US. The very idea that eating at Thai, Italian, Korean restaurants, etc. means one is “experiencing cultural diversity” rather _supports_ the point I was making. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/58 "2013-05-03T16:01:52Z")
Nobody ever went broke underestimating how little the American public knows or cares about any foreign country. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/59 "2013-05-03T16:10:47Z")
I probably learned it back in college sometime. I still think it’s just a joke you all are pulling on us though. Can’t say I really believe it 100% ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399/60 "2013-05-03T16:14:37Z")
People in other countries pronounce a lot of things wrong. Sometimes you can’t tell what they’re saying at all. Since we say things the right way here I don’t see why we should be concerned about them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-americans-really-unaware-the-letter-z-is-pronounced-zed-in-the-uk-australia-nz/657399.md?page=4)