Thread: Do the British sleep with zedzedzedzedzedzeds above their heads?

Quote: Originally Posted by Bad Astronaut Also, is anyone else a fan of the bad Zed Zed Top? I've called them that in the past - on purpose, to annoy or perplex, but it always falls flat.

Quote: Originally Posted by Bad Astronaut Zeer-oh (but not zee-roh). Identical pronunciation to hero. Ah, yes, that is what I'm trying to say. Same as hero. It seems to be partly a matter of where the "r" associates.

Any Gong fans here? I never realised there were different permutations possible for the pronunciation of Zero the Hero. I pronounce both words the same.

Quote: Originally Posted by Hypnagogic Jerk I'm not sure what you mean. In French, the name of the letter 'g' is pronounced [ʒe], which you can transcribe in English as "zhay" but the 'ay' sound is relatively short. Right, I thought g = zhay, rhymes with pay and j = zhee, rhymes with pee.

Quote: Originally Posted by Bad Astronaut That doesn't provide any information - the E is what is being asked about. I think the main contenders would be "zeer-oh" or "zerr-oh". "Zerr-oh" was the pronunciation I was describing.

Quote: Originally Posted by WotNot It may have spread, by now, via Sesame Street or something like that, but I never learned it as a child in England. Just as well, probably. It's a crap song and it doesn't scan properly. It would have annoyed the hell out of me. Well, that was certainly uncalled for. Just because you didn't learn it as a child doesn't mean you need to be insulting about it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Gyrate It has to be pronounced "zee" - otherwise the song doesn't rhyme. Oh. My. God. I... never noticed that song rhymed. I always just thought certain letters were emphasized for no particular reason.

Quote: Originally Posted by Bytegeist By the way, for you Commonwealth people pronouncing "zebra" with a short "e", how do you pronounce "zero"? (No fair responding with "nil", or "naught"!) Generally I hear it pronounced zee-ro. How do you pronounce zenith?

Quote: Originally Posted by Francis Vaughan This is getting quite fascinating. For me zero is short. Not short e, that would be wierd. Rather z-i-rho. Long e just seems wrong. z-ee-rho? Nope, nobody of British heritage would say that. Zenith. Short e. Surely no-one says Z-ee-n-i-th ? How about Zen? Or indeed Zed? A z-ee-n koan? Ugh!! Canadian here, I don't know how far you consider British Heritage to stretch... But I do use some long...

Quote: Originally Posted by legalsnugs Well, that was certainly uncalled for. Just because you didn't learn it as a child doesn't mean you need to be insulting about it. Oh dear, I'm sorry if I caused any offense – none was intended. I just had the realisation that it really would have irritated me if I'd learned it as a child, that's all. I'm quite certain I'm not the first person to note the problems with...