British accent stereotypes - 'news'

[Mark Mandel]

On Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 3:52 PM, Doug Harris <cats22 at frontiernet.net> wrote:

> What's with that 'zed', anyway? I remember snickers from a newsagent when I
> said I was in search of an 'A To Z' (street map). He said, "You mean an
> 'A To Zed'.
> I've long wondered how the Brit-English alphabet can have a letter that is
> pronounced, and spelled, as a word.
> Anyone know why that is?
> dh

You mean like "why" and "double-you"?

Seriously, though, "zed" < Greek "zeta". The French call it "zède"
(spelling?), pronounced like "zed"; the Spanish call it "zeta". The
Romans borrowed the name from the Greeks

--
Mark Mandel

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