Hi all! Just thought I would let you know that even down in "darkest Africa" the Z is alive and well. Although not many are seen on the roads anymore, there are a handful of decent ones left. I'd like to think that mine is one of those. I've posted a couple of pix, but hopefully I'll get some decent ones done soon. If there are any other members from my neck of the woods (South Africa) please drop me a line.

welcome buddy!

Hi all! Just thought I would let you know that even down in "darkest Africa" the Z is alive and well. Although not many are seen on the roads anymore, there are a handful of decent ones left. I'd like to think that mine is one of those. I've posted a couple of pix, but hopefully I'll get some decent ones done soon. If there are any other members from my neck of the woods (South Africa) please drop me a line.

Or is it just "Z"? Welcome!

Steve

Welcome to the group!

Zed or Zee tends to depend on where your ancestors came from and how well they've embraced the "mother" language over the centuries. I find it interesting that English speaking nations around the world name the last letter of the alphabet differently. anyone know how that came to be?

Dennis

A perpetuated speech impediment???

o.k. so, a brief moment with google reveals:

http://www.billcasselman.com/cwod_archive/zed.htm

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20000707

I find it interesting that folks that pronounce Z as Zed at times write it out as they would pronounce it, Zed. But I can't remember a time when, outside of this kind of discussion, anyone wrote Zee instead of Z.

Steve

Ok guys.... lets cool it a little! I'm new here, and yet in true "Brit" style I've managed to start a war! : ) It's true, that countries that were once part of the British Commonwealth go with the pronunciation of "Zed"... however I think that 240 "Zee" sounds a lot sexier!! Anyway, thanks for the welcome! I look forward to posting more "sleep-inducing" topics soon!

Hi Steve, just read your comment again... and I think your observation regarding the pronunciation is due to the fact that if you hear the alternative it automatically sounds like a word. When I say Z (Zed) it just sounds like the letter Z to a friend. However an American hears "Zed"! Likewise when you say Z ....I hear the "word "Zee". $^!#.... it looks like you didn't have to wait too long for that "sleep-inducing" post I promised!!!! (Sorry). I'm British, but have lived in South Africa for the last 40 years. It's my only excuse.... so I'm sticking with it.

Hi Steve, just read your comment again... and I think your observation regarding the pronunciation is due to the fact that if you hear the alternative it automatically sounds like a word. When I say Z (Zed) it just sounds like the letter Z to a friend. However an American hears "Zed"! Likewise when you say Z ....I hear the "word "Zee". $^!#.... it looks like you didn't have to wait too long for that "sleep-inducing" post I promised!!!! (Sorry). I'm British, but have lived in South Africa for the last 40 years. It's my only excuse.... so I'm sticking with it.

Just an observation. Not a commentary. When I hear Zed I know that it means the letter "Z" and that I'm not in Kansas anymore. Which is fine by me.

Steve

I go back over 50 years in ham radio, in which you will fre-

quently hear the "Z" called "Zed>"

I have heard the origin to be as follows: in two-way radio

communications, the letters "C" and "Z" sounded so much alike

on the unsophisticated early radio equipment that a distinction had to be made, particularly in tactical situations where com- munications errors could mean lost lives. My experience only

goes back as far as such sets as the AN/PRC-6 and AN/PRC-8,

9, and 10, so I can only imagine how unintelligible voice com- munication on even earlier transceivers must have been in the

days prior to WWII.

Of course the phonetic alphabet also helped out a lot--Able,

Baker, Charlie, Dog, Easy, Fox..............which in the 50's was

revised to Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot...........

but for the same purpose: making clear which letter of the alphabet you really meant. And equally important, for the

hearer to be clear about the same.

FWIW,............~Rick~

Edited October 10, 201014 yr by Kathy & Rick

So, Rick, got a rig in your Zed? I've thought about moving my Kenwood 742 out of my 1980 TR8 into the Zed since I have been spending more time in it....

73 de w4uck