This makes me think of this German lady I knew as an undergrad. She and her husband were both German, and he was there working on his master’s degree in German literature – this was in Texas, mind you! She was just along for the ride. At the time, I bought into the myth about Europeans all being polyglots and traveling extensively, but I came to find out that before meeting her husband, she’d never left Germany and couldn’t speak a word of anything other than German. At the time I met her, her English had become quite good, but I was surprised what a sheltered life she’d led back home.
Traveling around Europe later, I was struck by the numbers of people who were about the same. America certainly has no monopoly on hicks.
In the whole English-speaking world outside of North America, “zebra” is pronounced with a short E, like in the word “bed”, not a long E like in the word “need”.
Zeb-ra, not zeeeeeee-bra. Zeeeeeeee-bra is a US (and maybe Canada) only pronunciation, and sounds ridiculous to non-American English speakers. If we wanted to mock Americans, saying “Zeeeeeeeeeeeeee-bra” would be one way of doing it.
Accent’s a funny old thing really - I agree with your observation that the range and spread of accents in the UK is enormous, but it seems that the perception of difference and similarity in accents is highly subjective.
I’m fairly sure I once presented a range of UK accents including Scots Highland, Geordie, Essex and Somerset, only to have English-speakers from outside of the UK say “Yeah - they’re all pretty much the same”
I would agree about it being the case in Canada as well. I certainly use a long e, and I’m pretty sure everyone I know would as well. (And I grew up in Ottawa and moved to Edmonton, so that’s a sample from two distinct parts of the country).
There are number of different accents and race people in the UK.
I said North America is most diversity in the world. There are people all other world living there . If you ever walk into Miami ,Houston or Toronto it will not feel like you are in country you know , you have all different race and ethnic of people.
If you lived in small town or small city and gone to these big cities it be one big culture shock people all different race and people from different countries.
I’m sorry are you saying people have different accent and talk different than what is on your TV.
So the Zed only in on your TV but at the pub it is not?
I don’t think you know what is short or long E .
Short E bed / net
Long E need / Bede
Short E ( Z is always long Long E) there no short Z sound.
Long E sound like Zeee
The pronunciation of z sound like zee where in the UK it is short e.
I thought some people in Canada call the letter short E but the pronunciation is like US the long E.
Or may be different areas in Canada with different accents do it different.
No, what he seems to be saying is- either that it just doesn’t come up in day to day conversation (and it doesn’t), or that the Brits he talked to use “Zee” which is catching on (which it is).
The pronunciation of the word “zebra” has nothing to do with the pronunciation of the single letter “z.” It is completely possible to say “zed” but pronounce “zebra” with a long E.
I don’t think you completely understand what “zed” is. It’s only the single letter “z.” It has nothing to do with any of the words in the long list you made. Zachary doesn’t pronounce his name Zedachary.
It is? I have lived in Britain for all my 36 years and have never heard a native Brit pronounce the letter as “zee”, except when mimicing an American, or in the context of an American name such as ZZ Top or Jay-Z. (No, we don’t call him Jay-Zed.)