Zed versus Zee

[Andreas Kohlbach]

Am watching a lot of Youtube videos dealing with vintage computers. Some
of them were made from a Youtuber in the US, other in the UK.

I noticed that British Youtubers often mention "Zilog Zed 80". While when
Americans review the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer correctly pronounce it
as "Zed Ex Spectrum" although the "Z" is pronounced "Zee" in the US. But
I found at least one example by an American pronouncing it "Zee Ex
Spectrum". That sounds very wrong.

What is political correct? Should everybody say "Zilog Zee 80" and "Zed
Ex Spectrum"? I first agreed to it but recalled that Germans for example
say "Zett" for the "Z" (pronounce it Tsett in English). So "Zilog Zett
80" and "Zett Ix Spectrum". So changing my mind and everybody should
pronounce it like they want.

Because the Zilog Z80 is an American product, while the ZX Spectrum is a
British product, what would be "political correct" in your opinion?

[Quadibloc]

Post by Andreas Kohlbach
Because the Zilog Z80 is an American product, while the ZX Spectrum is a
British product, what would be "political correct" in your opinion?

Many Americans don't even _know_ that the British pronounce the letter Z as
"Zed"; they see their pronounciation as natural, and analogous to that of other
letters like C, D, and T. (If confusion is to be avoided, there's always the
Phonetic Alphabet... Alpha, Bravo, Charlie... Yankee, Zulu.)

So I would think that Americans would always pronounce Z their way, and the
British would always pronounce Z _their_ way, even if talking about things from
the other place.

John Savard

[Charlie Gibbs]

Post by Quadibloc

Post by Andreas Kohlbach
Because the Zilog Z80 is an American product, while the ZX Spectrum is a
British product, what would be "political correct" in your opinion?

Many Americans don't even _know_ that the British pronounce the letter Z as
"Zed"; they see their pronounciation as natural, and analogous to that of
other letters like C, D, and T. (If confusion is to be avoided, there's
always the Phonetic Alphabet... Alpha, Bravo, Charlie... Yankee, Zulu.)
So I would think that Americans would always pronounce Z their way, and the
British would always pronounce Z _their_ way, even if talking about things
from the other place.

That works for me. Being Canadian, I have different pronounciations for
many things from Eh to Zed - the latter of which I'll use for both Zilog
processors and IBM's latest heavy iron.

[Mike Spencer]

Post by Quadibloc
Many Americans don't even _know_ that the British pronounce the
letter Z as "Zed"; they see their pronounciation as natural, and
analogous to that of other letters like C, D, and T.

An American family moved to Nova Scotia years ago and opened a small
business in the village selling fabrics, patterns and needlework
accessories. The called it Sew-E-Z. Everyone wondered what Sew-E-Zed
meant.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On 28 Nov 2018 03:25:59 -0400

Everyone wondered what Sew-E-Zed meant.

Sounds like an alternative to bolts that should be pointed out to
Dr Frankenstein.

[Ahem A Rivet's Shot]

On Tue, 27 Nov 2018 16:46:48 -0800 (PST)

Post by Quadibloc
So I would think that Americans would always pronounce Z their way, and
the British would always pronounce Z _their_ way, even if talking about
things from the other place.

That's what generally happens IME with a few notable exceptions - it
sounded very odd to my ears when a TTS system with a UK voice announced
that I as about to listen to Zed Zed Top.

[JimP]

On Wed, 28 Nov 2018 07:11:23 +0000, Ahem A Rivet's Shot

Post by Ahem A Rivet's Shot
On Tue, 27 Nov 2018 16:46:48 -0800 (PST)

Post by Quadibloc
So I would think that Americans would always pronounce Z their way, and
the British would always pronounce Z _their_ way, even if talking about
things from the other place.

That's what generally happens IME with a few notable exceptions - it
sounded very odd to my ears when a TTS system with a UK voice announced
that I as about to listen to Zed Zed Top.

Now thats hilarious.

[Andreas Kohlbach]

Post by Quadibloc

Post by Andreas Kohlbach
Because the Zilog Z80 is an American product, while the ZX Spectrum is a
British product, what would be "political correct" in your opinion?

Many Americans don't even _know_ that the British pronounce the letter Z as
"Zed"; they see their pronounciation as natural, and analogous to that of other
letters like C, D, and T. (If confusion is to be avoided, there's always the
Phonetic Alphabet... Alpha, Bravo, Charlie... Yankee, Zulu.)
So I would think that Americans would always pronounce Z their way, and the
British would always pronounce Z _their_ way, even if talking about things from
the other place.

No, they don't always. I remember Youtube videos by The 8-Bit Guy or LGR,
which are both Americans, reviewing a ZX Spectrum to pronounce it "Zed Ex
Spectrum", while British Youtubers I came across pronounce the Zilog Z80
as "Zed Ex 80".

[Gene Wirchenko]

On Tue, 27 Nov 2018 16:56:16 -0500, Andreas Kohlbach
<***@spamfence.net> wrote:

[snip]

Post by Andreas Kohlbach
Because the Zilog Z80 is an American product, while the ZX Spectrum is a
British product, what would be "political correct" in your opinion?

Say it whichever way you want.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

[AndyW]

Post by Andreas Kohlbach
Am watching a lot of Youtube videos dealing with vintage computers. Some
of them were made from a Youtuber in the US, other in the UK.
I noticed that British Youtubers often mention "Zilog Zed 80". While when
Americans review the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer correctly pronounce it
as "Zed Ex Spectrum" although the "Z" is pronounced "Zee" in the US. But
I found at least one example by an American pronouncing it "Zee Ex
Spectrum". That sounds very wrong.
What is political correct? Should everybody say "Zilog Zee 80" and "Zed
Ex Spectrum"? I first agreed to it but recalled that Germans for example
say "Zett" for the "Z" (pronounce it Tsett in English). So "Zilog Zett
80" and "Zett Ix Spectrum". So changing my mind and everybody should
pronounce it like they want.
Because the Zilog Z80 is an American product, while the ZX Spectrum is a
British product, what would be "political correct" in your opinion?

However your culture says it should be pronounced.

US and the UK, two nations divided by a common language. It is why you
have US English and UK English options on installing software.

Andy

[Fred Smith]

Post by AndyW
However your culture says it should be pronounced.
US and the UK, two nations divided by a common language. It is why you
have US English and UK English options on installing software.
Andy

I saw an old British training film, made during the 1930's where
part of it showed a candidate reading an eye chart to check his
sight. He said Zee, which really surprised me. This was in the
Manchester area, so maybe that's where the Zee pronunciation
originated (I have no proof).

We're fighting a losing (not loosing!!!) battle to keep it as Zed
here in Australia.

FS.

[maus]

Post by Fred Smith

Post by AndyW
However your culture says it should be pronounced.
US and the UK, two nations divided by a common language. It is why you
have US English and UK English options on installing software.
Andy

I saw an old British training film, made during the 1930's where
part of it showed a candidate reading an eye chart to check his
sight. He said Zee, which really surprised me. This was in the
Manchester area, so maybe that's where the Zee pronunciation
originated (I have no proof).
We're fighting a losing (not loosing!!!) battle to keep it as Zed
here in Australia.
FS.

I read somewhere that the Australian-English variant was the hardest for
that irritating Amazon thingie to understand.

Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

[Quadibloc]

Post by maus
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a

(expletive deleted)

Post by maus
Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

No wonder. The "smart speaker" is called Alexa, not Alexis.

And they're not planted in people's rooms; they cost money, if you want one you
would have to buy it.

John Savard

[Charlie Gibbs]

Post by Quadibloc

Post by maus
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a

(expletive deleted)

Post by maus
Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

No wonder. The "smart speaker" is called Alexa, not Alexis.
And they're not planted in people's rooms; they cost money,
if you want one you would have to buy it.

So far.

[J. Clarke]

Post by maus

Post by Fred Smith

Post by AndyW
However your culture says it should be pronounced.
US and the UK, two nations divided by a common language. It is why you
have US English and UK English options on installing software.
Andy

I saw an old British training film, made during the 1930's where
part of it showed a candidate reading an eye chart to check his
sight. He said Zee, which really surprised me. This was in the
Manchester area, so maybe that's where the Zee pronunciation
originated (I have no proof).
We're fighting a losing (not loosing!!!) battle to keep it as Zed
here in Australia.
FS.

I read somewhere that the Australian-English variant was the hardest for
that irritating Amazon thingie to understand.
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

Would help if you looked for f****** Alexa. And one way to go about
it is to say "Hey Alexa" and listen for a response.

[f***@gmail.com]

Post by J. Clarke

Post by maus

Post by Fred Smith

Post by AndyW
However your culture says it should be pronounced.
US and the UK, two nations divided by a common language. It is why you
have US English and UK English options on installing software.
Andy

I saw an old British training film, made during the 1930's where
part of it showed a candidate reading an eye chart to check his
sight. He said Zee, which really surprised me. This was in the
Manchester area, so maybe that's where the Zee pronunciation
originated (I have no proof).
We're fighting a losing (not loosing!!!) battle to keep it as Zed
here in Australia.
FS.

I read somewhere that the Australian-English variant was the hardest for
that irritating Amazon thingie to understand.
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

Would help if you looked for f****** Alexa. And one way to go about
it is to say "Hey Alexa" and listen for a response.

https://xkcd.com/1807/

[Huge]

Post by f***@gmail.com

Post by J. Clarke

Post by maus

Post by Fred Smith

Post by AndyW
However your culture says it should be pronounced.
US and the UK, two nations divided by a common language. It is why you
have US English and UK English options on installing software.
Andy

I saw an old British training film, made during the 1930's where
part of it showed a candidate reading an eye chart to check his
sight. He said Zee, which really surprised me. This was in the
Manchester area, so maybe that's where the Zee pronunciation
originated (I have no proof).
We're fighting a losing (not loosing!!!) battle to keep it as Zed
here in Australia.
FS.

I read somewhere that the Australian-English variant was the hardest for
that irritating Amazon thingie to understand.
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

Would help if you looked for f****** Alexa. And one way to go about
it is to say "Hey Alexa" and listen for a response.

https://xkcd.com/1807/

Don't they have to be trained?

[Peter Flass]

Post by Huge

Post by f***@gmail.com

Post by J. Clarke

Post by maus

Post by Fred Smith

Post by AndyW
However your culture says it should be pronounced.
US and the UK, two nations divided by a common language. It is why you
have US English and UK English options on installing software.
Andy

I saw an old British training film, made during the 1930's where
part of it showed a candidate reading an eye chart to check his
sight. He said Zee, which really surprised me. This was in the
Manchester area, so maybe that's where the Zee pronunciation
originated (I have no proof).
We're fighting a losing (not loosing!!!) battle to keep it as Zed
here in Australia.
FS.

I read somewhere that the Australian-English variant was the hardest for
that irritating Amazon thingie to understand.
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

Would help if you looked for f****** Alexa. And one way to go about
it is to say "Hey Alexa" and listen for a response.

https://xkcd.com/1807/

Don't they have to be trained?

nope

[Charlie Gibbs]

Post by Huge

Post by f***@gmail.com

Post by J. Clarke

Post by maus
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

Would help if you looked for f****** Alexa. And one way to go about
it is to say "Hey Alexa" and listen for a response.

https://xkcd.com/1807/

Don't they have to be trained?

nope

This is a revival of old discussions about voice recognition:
someone walks into a room full of MS-DOS boxes and shouts
"FORMAT C: Y"

[AndyW]

Post by maus
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

You could try asking Alexa a question but if someone planted it in your
room then it is likely that they would change the default name.
Your best bet is to look at a power source. The lowest power Alexa dot
uses about 9 watts and so will not work long with a small, hideable
battery pack so check your wall sockets for a mysterious plug or any USB
equipped device for an unexpected wire.

Andy

[Peter Flass]

Post by AndyW

Post by maus
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

You could try asking Alexa a question but if someone planted it in your
room then it is likely that they would change the default name.
Your best bet is to look at a power source. The lowest power Alexa dot
uses about 9 watts and so will not work long with a small, hideable
battery pack so check your wall sockets for a mysterious plug or any USB
equipped device for an unexpected wire.
Andy

What are you guys up to that you're worried about this? I already have one
here, but if someone planted one they'd be seriously bored listening in.

[Charlie Gibbs]

Post by Peter Flass

Post by AndyW

Post by maus
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

You could try asking Alexa a question but if someone planted it in your
room then it is likely that they would change the default name.
Your best bet is to look at a power source. The lowest power Alexa dot
uses about 9 watts and so will not work long with a small, hideable
battery pack so check your wall sockets for a mysterious plug or any USB
equipped device for an unexpected wire.

What are you guys up to that you're worried about this? I already have one
here, but if someone planted one they'd be seriously bored listening in.

Governments are full of people doing boring things.

Winston: We are the dead.
Julia: We are the dead.
Telescreen: You are the dead.

[maus]

Post by Charlie Gibbs

Post by Peter Flass

Post by AndyW

Post by maus
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

You could try asking Alexa a question but if someone planted it in your
room then it is likely that they would change the default name.
Your best bet is to look at a power source. The lowest power Alexa dot
uses about 9 watts and so will not work long with a small, hideable
battery pack so check your wall sockets for a mysterious plug or any USB
equipped device for an unexpected wire.

What are you guys up to that you're worried about this? I already have one
here, but if someone planted one they'd be seriously bored listening in.

Governments are full of people doing boring things.
Winston: We are the dead.
Julia: We are the dead.
Telescreen: You are the dead.

Old story I have probably recounted before:

Group of Southern Irish going to a meeting in Belfast.
One in the back says; "There is a RUC landrover right behind"
'Know-it-all' in passenger seat says: "They have things in them
that can listen to conversations in the car in front"
Back seat: "Then they must listen to lots of bull-s*** "

[J. Clarke]

Post by Charlie Gibbs

Post by Peter Flass

Post by AndyW

Post by maus
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

You could try asking Alexa a question but if someone planted it in your
room then it is likely that they would change the default name.
Your best bet is to look at a power source. The lowest power Alexa dot
uses about 9 watts and so will not work long with a small, hideable
battery pack so check your wall sockets for a mysterious plug or any USB
equipped device for an unexpected wire.

What are you guys up to that you're worried about this? I already have one
here, but if someone planted one they'd be seriously bored listening in.

Governments are full of people doing boring things.
Winston: We are the dead.
Julia: We are the dead.
Telescreen: You are the dead.

The thing is, the US government doesn't have people doing it, they've
automated the process, providing surveillance on a scale that Stalin
never dreamed of. But we're "the land of the free" so it's OK, or so
they say.

[Dan Espen]

Post by J. Clarke

Post by Charlie Gibbs

Post by Peter Flass

Post by AndyW

Post by maus
Which reminds me. How would you know if there was a f****** Alexis planted
in yor room?. I have searched the Internet and can find nothing.

You could try asking Alexa a question but if someone planted it in your
room then it is likely that they would change the default name.
Your best bet is to look at a power source. The lowest power Alexa dot
uses about 9 watts and so will not work long with a small, hideable
battery pack so check your wall sockets for a mysterious plug or any USB
equipped device for an unexpected wire.

What are you guys up to that you're worried about this? I already have one
here, but if someone planted one they'd be seriously bored listening in.

Governments are full of people doing boring things.
Winston: We are the dead.
Julia: We are the dead.
Telescreen: You are the dead.

The thing is, the US government doesn't have people doing it, they've
automated the process, providing surveillance on a scale that Stalin
never dreamed of. But we're "the land of the free" so it's OK, or so
they say.

Land of the scared.

[Adam Sampson]

He said Zee, which really surprised me. This was in the Manchester
area, so maybe that's where the Zee pronunciation originated (I have
no proof).

I'm a lecturer at a Scottish university, and there's a significant
fraction of my students who pronounce "J" to rhyme with "I" rather than
with "K" ("so should I swap over the eye and jye variables?"). So
there's still some variation on this even within the UK...

[maus]

Post by Adam Sampson

He said Zee, which really surprised me. This was in the Manchester
area, so maybe that's where the Zee pronunciation originated (I have
no proof).

I'm a lecturer at a Scottish university, and there's a significant
fraction of my students who pronounce "J" to rhyme with "I" rather than
with "K" ("so should I swap over the eye and jye variables?"). So
there's still some variation on this even within the UK...

From old German, I suppose. How do you pronounce 'G' in German?..

[Andreas Kohlbach]

Post by maus

Post by Adam Sampson

He said Zee, which really surprised me. This was in the Manchester
area, so maybe that's where the Zee pronunciation originated (I have
no proof).

I'm a lecturer at a Scottish university, and there's a significant
fraction of my students who pronounce "J" to rhyme with "I" rather than
with "K" ("so should I swap over the eye and jye variables?"). So
there's still some variation on this even within the UK...

From old German, I suppose. How do you pronounce 'G' in German?..

Take the "g" from "ghost" and add "ee".

[Alfred Falk]

Post by Fred Smith

Post by AndyW
However your culture says it should be pronounced.
US and the UK, two nations divided by a common language. It is why you
have US English and UK English options on installing software.
Andy

I saw an old British training film, made during the 1930's where
part of it showed a candidate reading an eye chart to check his
sight. He said Zee, which really surprised me. This was in the
Manchester area, so maybe that's where the Zee pronunciation
originated (I have no proof).

Usual story is that American lexicographer promoted the idea of all
consonant letter names rhyming with B, C, D, etc. "Zee" is the only one
that caught on.

Post by Fred Smith
We're fighting a losing (not loosing!!!) battle to keep it as Zed
here in Australia.

Canadian usage has shifted somewhat to "Zee" in recent years, but I thing
it's still minority.

[JimP]

On Tue, 27 Nov 2018 16:56:16 -0500, Andreas Kohlbach

Post by Andreas Kohlbach
Am watching a lot of Youtube videos dealing with vintage computers. Some
of them were made from a Youtuber in the US, other in the UK.
I noticed that British Youtubers often mention "Zilog Zed 80". While when
Americans review the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer correctly pronounce it
as "Zed Ex Spectrum" although the "Z" is pronounced "Zee" in the US. But
I found at least one example by an American pronouncing it "Zee Ex
Spectrum". That sounds very wrong.
What is political correct? Should everybody say "Zilog Zee 80" and "Zed
Ex Spectrum"? I first agreed to it but recalled that Germans for example
say "Zett" for the "Z" (pronounce it Tsett in English). So "Zilog Zett
80" and "Zett Ix Spectrum". So changing my mind and everybody should
pronounce it like they want.
Because the Zilog Z80 is an American product, while the ZX Spectrum is a
British product, what would be "political correct" in your opinion?

Don't care about the pc version of it. I just say zee-x 81 or zee-x
spectrum.