Well the French letter 'Z' is pronounced 'zed' and they both come from Zeta and then LatinFlig said:
50 Americanisms That Brits Apparently Hate
- Thread starter Shock and Awe
- Start date
As an American, I don't like the use of 24/7, because in most cases, it doesn't make any sense. Saying the Secret Service protects the President 24/7 would be proper, but saying I've been working, partying, reading, gaming, studying, or whatever 24/7 is virtually impossible. Supposedly God couldn't even make it past 24/6.
There should be a list of England-isms, too. I mean, why call it maths if you're only talking about one kind of math?
Half of the list I've never heard at ALL uttered by intelligent Americans (no that is not an oxymoron...), the rest are pointless nitpicks and based on the assumption that every phrase ever uttered in English was coined by the Brits and corrupted by the Americans.
...I've never even heard half of these things, like "an half hour." Who the hell says that?
Numero uno really makes me mad though, as do other wrong sayings people misunderstand because they're too bloody dumb to understand double negatives
you ain't seen nothing yet - you have seen something so far.
Numero uno really makes me mad though, as do other wrong sayings people misunderstand because they're too bloody dumb to understand double negatives
you ain't seen nothing yet - you have seen something so far.
....how the hell do you pronounce "H" ?Mr. Brightside said:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/H
"In most dialects of English, the letter's name is zed (play /ˈzɛd/) reflecting its derivation from the Greek zeta but in American English, its name is zee (play /ˈziː/), deriving from a late 17th century English dialectal form."kaveradeo said:
'Zed' trumps 'zee' for both its widespread usage and acceptance, and also for its accuracy in reflecting its root 'zeta'.
But it doesn't matter. English doesn't belong to anybody. It's a global language and it's living. Most native non-American speakers only get annoyed with Americanisms in English because they feel oppressed by them. They are everywhere, TV, movies, books, but not because of merit or worth but because of economic power.
So "how is 'Z' supposed to be pronounced if not as 'zee'?" is exactly the kind of question that sparks off indignation from many non-Americans. Obviously, 'Z' is pronounced the way that the majority of speakers in a culture agree, which means it's relative.
Yet, this list, despite being lighthearted, is perpetrating the same linguistic absolutism the writers perceive Americans to perpetrate. Half the 'golden rules' and 'standards' in English are the result of compounded errors, misunderstandings, erroneous back-formation and ill-advised aesthetics (really, applying Latin rules to English? Let's apply Chinese ones, shall we?).
Did you know, for example, that 'an apron' was originally 'a napron'? We still use the terms 'napery' and 'napkin'.
We could never have a list of brit-isms that bug Americans because we just dont know any! We're just not as exposed to your culture as you are to ours. I went to England for 2 weeks in 2005, and I just couldn't help thinking that a lot of the things said were adorable sounding, because it was just so different.
Actually, when I was a kid I read a book series that was written in the UK and had a glossary in the back so we could understand it. "Sellotape" was one, and so was "fringe." Sellotape I understand because over here we call it Scotch tape, as an insult to Scottish people (Apperently, it got its name after a customer complained that 3M was manufacturing its masking tape too cheaply, and told company engineer Richard Drew to, "take this tape back to your stingy Scotch bosses and tell them to put more adhesive on it.")
Otherwise all I know is what I learned from Harry Potter and watching Doctor Who and reading the Daily Mail online (because I have an addiction to trashy news like that). That and the "Wheelie Bin" joke. Your guys terms are just not well known over here...I had to google to find out what a "WAG" was a few weeks ago. And I didnt know fortnight until someone pointed out that it was bi-weekly in this thread. And until this thread, I thought that "Zed" was just something that Canadians said. Do you not sing the alphabet song as kids? Does it just not rhyme at the end?
Actually, when I was a kid I read a book series that was written in the UK and had a glossary in the back so we could understand it. "Sellotape" was one, and so was "fringe." Sellotape I understand because over here we call it Scotch tape, as an insult to Scottish people (Apperently, it got its name after a customer complained that 3M was manufacturing its masking tape too cheaply, and told company engineer Richard Drew to, "take this tape back to your stingy Scotch bosses and tell them to put more adhesive on it.")
Otherwise all I know is what I learned from Harry Potter and watching Doctor Who and reading the Daily Mail online (because I have an addiction to trashy news like that). That and the "Wheelie Bin" joke. Your guys terms are just not well known over here...I had to google to find out what a "WAG" was a few weeks ago. And I didnt know fortnight until someone pointed out that it was bi-weekly in this thread. And until this thread, I thought that "Zed" was just something that Canadians said. Do you not sing the alphabet song as kids? Does it just not rhyme at the end?
I hate American English, but these people are overreacting. I agreed with some of them (like alphabetise), but most of them are extremely petty, or simply don't exist at all.