Zed or Zee?

Discussion in 'Linguistics' started by aaqucnaona, Feb 23, 2012.

  1. przyk squishy Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,203
    Are you sure? I know the French pronounce Z as "zed" similar to the British, but the group's French Wikipedia page gives the pronounciation as "zi zi". Otherwise I don't know offhand. As I said, I only recently found out how the British pronounce it.
     
  2. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  3. Trippy ALEA IACTA EST Staff Member

    Messages:
    10,890
    Somewhere around I have a page of puns that are funny because of the different meanings of words in different languages that are (more or less) homophones.

    The classic example (for me at least) being nein.

    There's a portion from a Goon Show skit, set during WW2 where they're interrogating a German spy, who was posing as a Sheperd (Get it? He was a Shepherd Spy).
    Interrogator: Are you married?
    Spy: Jah.
    I: How long?
    S: Two years.
    I: Any children?
    S: Nein.
    I: Nine children in two years?? You dirty beast!

    More recently it came up in relation to Herman Caine's tax policy eg: "Congress Would Say 'Nein, Nein, Nein' To Cain's 9-9-9 Tax Plan" Forbes

    Yup.

    Are you able to distinguish between South African, Australian, and New Zealand accents?
     
  4. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  5. przyk squishy Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,203
    I don't think you have to be fully native. I've spoken French all my life, but I was mostly brought up in English speaking environments and attended English speaking schools, and even though I've now been living in Brussels for over six years, I still speak with an accent (though evidently a rather odd one, since more than one person has asked me if I'm from Luxembourg). I don't hear much difference between Parisian and Bruxellois French, though natives do. I'm just aware of a difference between "urban" French and the "rural" French of people who have lived their entire lives in, say, the Ardennes (like in this comedy sketch). But if this is representative, I can easily hear the difference between that and the French I'm used to hearing around here. To me it almost sounds like they're pinching their noses when they speak!
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2012
  6. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  7. Rhaedas Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    1,516
    Added: It was the first SG:A episode.

    McKay: "We need the zed P M to power the gate."
    O'Neil "What?"
    Daniel "Zee PM. He's Canadian."
    O'Neil (to McKay) "I'm sorry."
     

Share This Page