Zee versus zed

[Ohwhatfuckeryitistoride]

This week I've been running visual acuity tests for year 7s. I soon noticed that about 80% of them say zee instead of zed. Now I know language changes etc, it's a mix of us influences and maybe learning phonics in primary, but it made me feel unaccountably sad.
Do your kids say zed or zee?

I'm not in the UK but I have never heard anyone prounounce it any other way than 'jay'. (and my name begins with J)

I always say Generation ZED as well. However, when referring to ZZ Top I pronounce it ZEE.

Why? What does it really matter?

I resigned myself to 16 yo dd saying haitch a fair while ago. It’s regional and grew up in a region, which uses aitch. She has recently started saying anyways. Idk who she’s caught this from. Perhaps a lad, who joined sixth form, who she’s friends with. I will be the squeaky wheel in correcting this one.

Weirdly people get so pent up about perceived Americanisms that it’s actually just a little England mentality usually. Most of these comments about how things are pronounced in the UK are actually just English, not the UK as a whole.
Step outside your little world every now and then before ranting about people being wrong.

This does make sense!

Teacher should be immediately suspended! I remember (many years ago) our junior school teacher writing out aitch on the blackboard to teach correct spelling and pronunciation.

Haitch is also correct.

Yes. Send them to the guillotine immediately (and not the one next to the printer…)

To me it's definitely jay.

Don't get me started on "pinky" finger. It's a LITTLE finger!

The proper pronunciation of lieutenant and schedule is something I will defend to the grave.

In my home town (South East) we said film, or going to the pictures, flicks or cinema. Movie and movies were seen as American.

People don't know how to pronounce them though. I joined an Am Dram group and was given a rehearsal "skedule". I referred to it as the "shed-ule" but was outnumbered. We can only plough on!

I grew up in the Midlands and we talked about going to the pictures, going to the cinema or going to see a film. That was in the late 70s and 80s.
I think the flicks was a slightly older expression.
I never heard anyone referring to a film as a movie.

My personal battle (which I know that I'm losing) is against Santa. I insist on calling him Father Christmas which is what he has been called in England (not sure about the rest of Britain) since Medieval times.

I still say HAR-issment much to the chagrin of my children 🙂

How about forehead? Forrid or for- hed?

Forrid for me, but I suspect I would be alone in that here.

Forrid for me too

This is an interesting one as my mum swears blind it’s “forrid”, whereas I have only ever seen that written in Victorian books. I always say “forehead”, as does everyone that I know personally.

This was the post I was supposed to quote above. Sorry @ForGreyKoala - I quoted you by accident!

I don’t say forrid but I remember a poem from when I was a child:

There was a little girl
who had a little curl
right in the middle of her forehead
when she was good she was very very good
And when she was bad she was horrid

Which confused me until my mum explained the “forrid” pronunciation.

This is the exact poem my mum and I have the debate over! She used to sing it to me as a kid (because I had a little curl right in the middle of my “forrid”, and when I was good I was very, very… you get the rest 😄)

Oh yes! And someone being HAR-rassed rather than har-RASSED? I'm sure the second one came in with Frank Spencer and never went away!

Definitely fore-head for me and it's always been Santa in Scotland, never Father Christmas.

That's okay. My parents used to say "forrid" so I guess that's why I do.