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/lit/ - Literature

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1419645 No.1419645 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /lit/. You're speaking English, maybe reading aloud, and you come across this single lone letter that you now have to say.

Type how you pronounced it.

>> No.1419647

Z

>> No.1419648

Z.

>> No.1419649
File: 105 KB, 800x600, america.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1419649

zee

Deal with it, UK.

>> No.1419650

Zed. Properly.

>> No.1419651

Zed.

>> No.1419652

>>1419649
You do know they just told you that in gradeschool because it made Zed rhyme with the rest of the letters and therefore easier to remember, right? The letter is still zed.

>> No.1419653

Zed (rhymes with head)

this is because we English have full understanding and control of the English language.

Keep trying Americunts

>> No.1419655

>>1419649
I hate you disrupt your anglophobic view, but folks over here pronounce it Zee and Zed depending on area.

>> No.1419661

OP here, I'm American and I say Zed. I understand that I was taught incorrectly in gradeschool and it pisses me off. Furthermore I say H as "hach" not 'ach. I made this thread because I wanted to see how many of you knew what the letter was actually called. I get so sick of hearing "Zee" in my country.

>> No.1419662

>>1419645
I say zee, but when I do the alphabet to my little cousin I say zed because ZED is correct.

>> No.1419665

>>1419662
Good man.

>> No.1419666

american here

this is the first i've heard of this zed character. anything else i should know?

>> No.1419667

Zed.
Canadian here.

>> No.1419668

>>1419650
>>1419651
>>1419652
>>1419653
Hey guys, get in the car! We are going to the Zedoo!

>> No.1419669

>>1419661

H is pronounced "aitch".

>> No.1419676

>>1419666
Not that I can think of. Just retrain yourself by saying "Zed axis" and "Porygon Zed". One telltale sign is that American infecteds which movie-goers seem to think are zombies, often call them "Zeds" based on the fact that the name begins with Z.

>> No.1419681
File: 204 KB, 400x591, gabedealwithit.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1419681

Zedippy doo doo, zedippy de day.

UK, are you even trying?

>> No.1419682

>>1419666
Yes there is. "meme" is pronounced "meem". It was a term coined by Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins to explain a unit of social change. It's not "mehm" or "mee mee"

And sage is pronounced "sah gay" from the Japanese word sageru meaning "to lower". It isn't the same as the English herb.

>> No.1419683

>>1419668
>>1419681
This isn't funny, witty, or clever. No one is laughing. I'm responding to you out of pity because you're like that one guy who tells lame jokes IRL and doesn't get it when no one laughs.

>> No.1419694

zed

fuck the world

>> No.1419699

>>1419683
sounds like you dont understand american humor

and yes, it is humor, not humour or what ever the fuck you weirdos say

>> No.1419705

Xe.

>> No.1419706

>>1419699
Dude, I'm an American. I'm not English. I live in goddam Oklahoma, I'm just an autodidact on account of SCHOOL NOT LEARNIN ME GOOD, BOY.

>> No.1419707

>>1419705

Suck it, amerifats.

>> No.1419709

>>1419694
But that's how 90% of the English speaking world pronounces it. How the hell is that "fuck the world"?

>> No.1419711
File: 79 KB, 559x541, 1292318614094.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1419711

>> No.1419717

ay
bee
sea
dee
ee
eff
jee
aytch
eye
jay
kay
el
em
en
oh
pee
kyoo
are
ess
tee
yoo
vee
double-yoo
eks
why
zed

Now everyone STFU

>> No.1419720

I say 'zed' all the time. I also watch Dragonball Zed and listen to Jay Zed. Bring it on amerifags.

>> No.1419721

>>1419699
no see, zedoo isn't funny because you don't say zeeoo either.
>am i even trying amurica?

>> No.1419728

>>1419683
Oh man, I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Listen, my name is Zedach, and I own the buzedzedy beezed shop in Portland. Let me get your adress and I can send you a free buzedzedy beezed zeduper zedweet honey on the house.

>> No.1419733

>>1419709
just like someone from the english speaking word to think because they say it neato every fucking chinese starving for bread calls it zed. no you fucker.
they call it zee.

>> No.1419735

> type how you pronounce it
> nobody uses IPA

whats next on the menu? the proper pronunciation of Goethe? Like we never had that before...

>> No.1419738

>>1419735

>implying IPA is consistent across accents and dialects

>> No.1419739

>>1419733
Actually I'm a Norwegian speaker. You people in this thread are really bad at guessing.

>> No.1419741
File: 12 KB, 198x240, whyumadtho.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1419741

>>1419683

>> No.1419747

>>1419738
yeah, I rightfully implied that, cap'n obvious

>> No.1419749

>>1419735
Dunno about that, but even in America, when I talk about Andrew Lloyd Webber, I say "Vebber"

When I had a client or customer with the name "Weiss" I called them "Vice".

>> No.1419750
File: 41 KB, 250x379, 250px-Zedd2.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1419750

Zed, I'm British.

It annoys me when other British people say things like "HURR DON'T SAY ZEE AMERICANS THE LANGUAGE IS ENGLISH" and get butthurt over Americanised words - especially the ones who don't seem to realise a word ending in -ize isn't necessarily American.

>> No.1419753

>>1419739
oh man. and i was sure you were breastfed on hamburgers. rock on

>> No.1419754

>>1419735
>gu-r-tuh

>> No.1419756

>>1419753
Okay, that was pretty funny

>> No.1419757

>>1419750

Yeah fucks me off why my zealous british counterparts get butthurt when I use -ize, even though -ize is OED spelling and -ise is British tabloid faggotry.

>> No.1419761

>>1419750

And I never remembered Lord Zed having claws

>> No.1419769

>>1419754
Yohan Vulfgang fon Gu-r-tuh.

>> No.1419771

>>1419757
Don't you mean zedealous?

>> No.1419772

>>1419682

I think that "as in the herb" is common enough to become a secondary pronunciation, since it facilitates variants like "saging."

And while we're at it, herb is pronounced urb.

>> No.1419773

>>1419761
Lord Zedd*, you mean

>> No.1419775

>>1419757
From what I remember -ise and -ize are both okay to use in British English. Americans exclusively use -ize, but that doesn't mean anything ending in -ize is automatically Americanised like many Brits seem to think.

>> No.1419776

>>1419772
That's an appeal to common practice fallacy. Something is not valid simply because it is commonly done.

>> No.1419780

>>1419771
>>1419771

According to you it's Lord Zee-edd

>> No.1419785

>>1419775

-ize is correct because it comes from the Greek suffix izo or something. -ise is incorrect despite being predominant in British English, but this is just a recent thing (within past few decades or something). It's an example of the British falling out of a practice and the Americans keeping it, then Brits getting faggy about them abusing language when they aren't.

Though it is analyse not analyze.

>> No.1419797

>>1419785
Americans also tend to pronounce English words more properly. We never had influence from other countries after the move to a new continent, and so our pronunciations stayed largely true to their Germanic origin. It makes me laugh every time I see a British production of Shakespeare's works when I know they did not have that type of accent. They sounded German.

>> No.1419799

>>1419776
>That's an appeal to common practice fallacy. Something is not valid simply because it is commonly done.

Except it's language. It's the sounds people make to denote things they encounter, when describing those things to themselves or other people orally. How the fuck could the common sequence of sounds denoting something *not* be a "valid" sequence of sounds denoting something? Seriously, have a long think about this, before you say anything more.

>> No.1419800

Zee.

It's what I was taught. And besides, when you're using the letter in a word, it will never ever make anything remotely like a "zed" sound, but it can make a "zee" sound.

>> No.1419802

>>1419797

This is true. Apparently the New England accent is the closest to how English was at the time of colonizing (around the great vowel shift probably), and British English changed a lot. Plus British English has a fuck ton of regional accents.

>> No.1419807

>>1419776

In general it isn't, but in the case of language, that is exactly how it works. LANGUAGE IS DEFINED BY USAGE.

Language is created collectively by the sum of each individual act of communication. If a person wishes to speak in a manner so as to express clarity or class they may have to follow certain rules beyond mere comprehensibility, but "sage" is a term of imageboard jargon, and as such, there is no higher source to appeal to.

>> No.1419808

>>1419800

>implying most of the letters of the alphabet don't do that

>> No.1419814

Zed, but I'm not from, nor even been to, England

>> No.1419815

Zed. Because zed.

>> No.1419816

>>1419800
>it will never ever make anything remotely like a "zed" sound, but it can make a "zee" sound.
Off the top of my head, zebra. In Britain it's pronounced zeb-ra rather than zee-bra in America.

>> No.1419821

>>1419800
you're right
like kyu always makes a kyu sound and never a kwuh sound

>> No.1419833

>>1419816
or "zen" in zen buddhism. i hear the americans pronounce it "zeen"

>> No.1419835

>>1419807
That's a really bad way to go about establishing a means for communication. The evolution of communication works that way by creating NEW words with new meanings. But to simply change old words or fuse words together or something, that is wrong. And a fallacy of popularity if you try to say it's valid.

Language works by creating a common pathway between the left brains of individuals. If that pathway is constantly having its old roads torn up and reconstructed, then you get dissonance between speakers. Laying down brand new roads serves to help. So, while words like "Busking" being created (people performing in the streets), words like "Decimate" being used to mean "wipe out entirely or destroy" that's bullshit. Decimate means to remove a tenth of.

If we defined all current words as tentative and they could be redefined by the zeitgeist, then language would be too cumbersome. That's why we need pedants like me to keep people in line.

>> No.1419839

>>1419833
I have never heard this. That sounds like a very limited regional phenomenon, but that is hilarious.

>> No.1419845

>>1419835
No, pedants like you have literally no role in language. The words are defined by their usage. Decimate simply doesn't mean remove one-tenth. Call it bullshit if you like but that has no impact on the definition of the word. Language is defined by usage. Is simple;

>> No.1419846

>>1419800
Yes because H only ever sounds like aitch in a word. Never a breathy sound. And you're forgetting words like accessorized, adrenalized, and carbonized. Funnily enough, the last syllable is traditionally pronounced like the letter "zed". The e is not silent. Otherwise it would be a contraction like accessoriz'd.

>> No.1419851

>>1419835

I'm pretty sure decimate means to *reduced* to one tenth?

>> No.1419852

>>1419845
Repeating your argument does not make it right. Especially when you just got schooled that hard.

>> No.1419862

>>1419851
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimation_%28Roman_army%29

Munitions or cowardly soldiers were selected at random and one tenth were brutally killed. This punishment was called decimation.

>> No.1419865

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/decimate

Everyone's right.

>> No.1419866

>>1419862
Well yes, there's that too. I work as a video editor and decimation is a process for digital video. It has to do with anti-aliasing. But yes, it works by reducing BY a tenth, not TO a tenth.

>> No.1419868

>>1419835
>If we defined all current words as tentative and they could be redefined by the zeitgeist, then language would be too cumbersome. That's why we need pedants like me to keep people in line.

Actually we need pedants like you to stop trying to stop language and culture because you personally find freedom too cumbersome for your left brain. And in the meantime, using your sensitive ear to pick up on, critique, and describe the changes in language over time that you observe, because that is a lot more interesting and helpful than holding onto an ideal of static language as an efficient, desirable fact. Seriously, the only reason anyone gives a shit about "decimate" meaning "to destroy one tenth of" is because it's a cool anecdote about extant etymology from a dead language. We have absolutely no use for a word that means "to destroy one tenth of" outside of surreal and contrived neologisms, but we have plenty of use for a word that means "to utterly destroy". This is a much more efficient use of my brain, and I'm glad we as a culture have collectively gotten to this point. Also, study Huffman encoding, plus the fact that word frequency naturally changes with changes in society at large. Even from a purely mathematical approach, your ideas would absolutely destroy the efficiency of spoken language

>> No.1419870

>>1419868
Looks more like you skimmed that post than read it. I don't think the poster ever implied they want to STOP LANGUAGE OMG. It looked pretty clear that the additions to language are good. I agree with Alice on the point that tearing up old shit and redefining it causes problems. Just look at THIS THREAD.

This is what your precious "definito ad populum" does.

>> No.1419875

>>1419866
>Well yes, there's that too. I work as a video editor and decimation is a process for digital video. It has to do with anti-aliasing. But yes, it works by reducing BY a tenth, not TO a tenth.

Fair enough. You have the one job where this is completely relevant, and your field therefore collectively decided to revive the archaic meaning in the new context.

>> No.1419879

>>1419875
It's not archaic. The word was chosen because it's literal meaning fit exactly with the process we use.

>> No.1419881

Alice, can we see your boobs

>> No.1419882

>>1419879
*its

FUCKING GOD DAMMIT PINKY Y U DO DIS

>> No.1419885

>>1419881
They're really small so I doubt you can. You may not see them, either.

>> No.1419887

>>1419852
It's not an argument. It's a simple statement of the way things are. Even the most rudimentary investigation into the way language works will show that usage defines it.

>> No.1419891

>>1419870
>Looks more like you skimmed that post than read it. I don't think the poster ever implied they want to STOP LANGUAGE OMG. It looked pretty clear that the additions to language are good.

It's not "stopping language" it's about "stopping efficient development of a language for ridiculously arbitrary and pedantic reasons". Redefining a word for no reason is dumb, but redefining a word because of collectively clear context is what we do all the time, because most of us are not overly pedantic, and to the extent we are, are able to suspend pedantry for two seconds in order to communicate about subjects we are interested and invested in. This is the equivalent of central-planning, thought-police-level socializing of language, and it's just as efficient. It's a giant ball of molasses in everyone's head because some people are diabetic. Yes, I am using metaphors like this to piss Alice off. I don't apologize, either.

>> No.1419896

>>1419645
Zed.
French.

>> No.1419898

>>1419885

small boobs are better

>> No.1419899

tsett

>> No.1419908

>>1419891
Jesus Christ man, I bet you think Jews did 9/11 and the illuminati are taking over the world.

>> No.1419910

>>1419898
:D
but still no. /lit/ is for books not boobs.

>> No.1419915

>>1419908

just cuz you're wrong

>> No.1419918

>>1419910

>/lit/ is for books
debatable

>> No.1419921

>>1419908
>Jesus Christ man
"Messiah man"? Is this some sort of neological interjection? I don't understand how you're using words in context
>I bet you think Jews did 9/11
How much do you bet?
I'm not sure how a sect of people can do a proper fraction, because I don't understand how people use words in context.
>and the illuminati are taking over the world.
How can the plural gerund of "having been made light" take over the word? I don't understand how people use words in context.

>> No.1419924

Language prescriptive are funny, its just adorable. Like a kitten trying to catch the dot of laser pointer.

>> No.1419927

>>1419921

Win.

>> No.1419935

>>1419918
I would've said literature but then I thought of an unfunny joke.

>> No.1419938

>>1419921
>>1419927
samefag

>> No.1419946

>>1419938

Nope. But,
>>1419908
>>1419938
Samefag.

>> No.1419947

>>1419935
Hey, boobs are OK by me.
Don't let us stop you.

>> No.1419967

>>1419938
So wait, are you the same anon that half-mockingly accused me of believing in anti-semitic conspiracies? And now you're acting like a possible samefag just ruined your day? Is that how you approach the world? Okay.

>> No.1419969

>>1419649

What a retard.

>> No.1420004
File: 39 KB, 400x456, BatmanHappy.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1420004

>mfw I belong to the "write it like you speak it and vice versa" master race

>> No.1420008

>>1419835
>That's why we need pedants like me to keep people in line.
>prevent language from becoming too cumbersome

That's just wrong and you know it. Being entirely grammatically and semantically correct leads to horrifically convoluted sentences. It actually makes it harder for normal people to understand what you are saying.

>Something is not valid simply because it is commonly done.

Language is. The purpose of language is to facilitate communication of ideas. It is only useful if everyone understands the meaning. This can either be achieved by giving all words a permanent and universal meaning, or by defining a word by the meaning the populace give to it. The first method is both much harder to achieve, as you have to find any misuse and eradicate it, and philosophically troubling. Who should be allowed to decide what something means if there is no objective way to measure "meaning." The latter method is much easier and occurs naturally.

>> No.1420009

>>1420004
funetickalley

>> No.1420012

>>1419668
You mean zedohoh.

>> No.1420014

>>1420004
So much this.
I used to think all your children were retarded and you people held spelling bees because that was the only thing they couldn't fuck up completely.
Turns out I was wrong, it's just your language that lives in the special languages home and rides the short buss to the special languages school.

>> No.1420022

>>1420004
German?

>> No.1420030

>>1420004

Türkce?

>> No.1420061

>>1420022
Dude, Germans have tons of pronunciation rules

>> No.1420068

>>1420061
Yep. You pronounce what's written, exactly as written. No letters which vanish for no reason.

Stupid french.

>> No.1420081

>>1420068
YOU VILL READ ZE VORDS AS ZEY APPEAR ON ZE PAGE.
DEVIATORS VILL BE SHOT!

>> No.1420088

>>1420068
>ck=k
>chs=ks
the list could go on
my language
>ck=ck
>chs=chs
>jdaidhaonblblbl=jdaidhaonblblbl

French has a strong and logical set of phonetic rules, much like German.
Much unlike English.

>> No.1420091

>>1420068
I... I don't remember typing "stupid french."

>> No.1420093

>>1419887

In the sense we're using the word, argument means claim. A claim of fact is still an argument. btw I agree with you

>> No.1420097

English - fuck the police

>> No.1420104

Zeta, motherfuckers.

>> No.1420111

ZETA

Finland strong.

>> No.1420124
File: 10 KB, 203x248, welding.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1420124

Zed.

>> No.1420140

>>1420088
"ck" and "k" have a very slight difference between them, but I see your point.

>> No.1420143

Set of all integers.

>> No.1420145

>>1420124
DOSH
DOSH
DOSH

>> No.1420191
File: 3 KB, 126x126, 1288002559662.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1420191

>>1419776
>mfw he makes up logic fallacies that don't exist
lrn2descriptivegrammar

>> No.1420202

>>1420004
Tiene que ser Español.

>> No.1420214

>>1420202
Supongo que de nuevo negro