nft_nexus crew. Anyone else with me on that? Miss whitespace, too, but showing it to anyone else just wouldn't be the same. Oh well. Guess it's just my mopey time of month. Still miss people, though. And rping. Like, group rping on LJ. But every time I try to get back into it, either I get distracted in the process or I get into a game that ends up being a dud. Mrr.
Oh, and tomorrow is going to be AMAZING at work, I can already tell. Because we were in the news AGAIN, so I'm sure everyone and their dog will be in screeching their heads off at us.
But! Happiness! Right!
krillia: and zee/zed joins the ranks with to-may-to, to-ma-to as things I want to smash my head against the desk about.Me: ... I'm almost scared to ask which they say is 'proper'
Krill: zee
Krill: because it's American English, which for some reason is the standard. No matter that most of the rest of the English-speaking world, all 53 other countries of it, use zed.
Me: oh well, who cares about the Brits, anyway?
Krill: and it's not like Americans don't know what zed IS.
Me: ......I would bet you a large portion don't
Krill: ....at least not ones of reasonable intelligence levels.
Me: same difference
Krill: seriously, though. Most of the major English-speaking countries use zed. And, quite frankly, as someone trying to teach the alphabet with its legion of similiar-sounding letters I'm all for not having another one to mess of with the gee/bee/pee, etc.
Krill: plus all my kids seem to have already LEARNED it as zed, which is the really confusing thing. Across the board in my schools.
Krill: but, yes. If it was just a case of America vs England that would be one thing.
Krill: I mean...choose whichever you damn well please.
Krill: But when you've got Australia, Canada, and all the English-speaking countries of Africa using "zed" I don't see the problem with teaching it. How many times are you going to have a conversation about the letter Z anyway? ^^;
Me: ...
Me: oh irony
Krill: ??
Me: sorry. just... conversation about z and then your last bt
Me: *bit
Me: apparently often enough is the answer
Krill: I am an English teacher. -_-
Krill: I recall two conversations in recent times, this one. Both regarding this same thing though.
Krill: one with Kevin, where we were goofing off and pretending to get really pissed off over it. We scared people. ^^;
Krill: *including this one
Krill: blargh. Whatever. It's mostly frustrating because of how all the kids already DO know zed for whatever reason.
Me: probably BECAUSE it's one less for the e/b/g/p/v brigade
Krill: it's kind of annoying when they have something right and I have to tell them it's wrong. -_-
Krill: at least to-may-to/to-mah-to I can pretend it's wrong because they're using the Japanese word.
Krill: Z...doesn't have a Japanese word. It's just Z.
Krill: (although C might like to argue that, given how often it is regulated to having to be し)
Me: poor C
Krill: H has issues too. It's often ecchi. ^^;
Me: *giggles* poor H
Krill: indeed
Krill: it just sits there, being a nice word to start of such useful words as happy and hat (and get used completely confusingly in through), and now everyone thinks its a pervert.
Me: well, but it does also make appearances in words like hips and heavy breathing, so what do you expect?
Krill: and hormone
Me: and it's always pairing off with t and then s and then g and then c and it just can't make up its mind
Me: a slutty letter, H
Krill: is that why E hates it so much in words like herb?
Me: unless you're British. then you pronounce the H
Me: but Brits also toss extra letters into words like aluminum, so they can't be trusted
Krill: as the great Mr Izzard once pointed out.
Me: indeed
Krill: ok, so it's just American Es that hate H. British ones are apparently more forgiving?
Krill: or maybe they're biding their time for some sort of great letter revenge. Maybe go have an affair with Q just to fuck with EVERYONE's heads.
Me: finally shove W out of the way, eh?
Krill: or maybe team up with W for it. It must be bitter about U always stealing its glory with Qu.
Me: when W is twice the letter U is
Krill: queen, quest, aqueous.
Krill: there shall be epic QWE threesomes
Me: unless you're the Qwest Center in Omaha
Krill: that was when they experimented for a night of passion.
Me: and made R and S switch? like a wife swap or something?
Krill: E and W are working on getting Q to divorce U now.
Krill: "you know you liked it, baby. We'd be so GOOD together."
Me: *laughs* this is like... The Letter People, X-rated version
Me: (X is so proud of itself. they always said it'd be a nothing letter, but now it's the favorite of teenage boys everywhere)
Krill: "U, he gets to have action with everyone, but insists you stay with him all the time. That's not right, gorgeous"
Krill: X is even more popular in multiples. It should be proud of itself.
Me: even four H's don't get nearly the attention that three X's do.
Krill: three Ks do, though.
Me: but not in a fun way
You aren't the only one pining for the fjords.
I am, however, confused as to why teaching both as proper and which countries use which would not be the norm in teaching English to non-native speakers. Wouldn't that make the most sense?
And H is a total slut, but it's a lovable slut. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with E.
...or was that spelled Zedd?
I therefore apologize for my remark which certainly over-generalized and was, as you said, unreasonable.
Although now I do wonder why this is (not why my position was unreasonable. Why Americans wouldn't be taught a variation on a word that is used in multiple countries).
As for teaching it as both, well, that's obviously much too confusing for 6th graders and would make them not want to learn English ever. I have had teachers specifically tell me that I was NOT to explain that there were two. Something inside me died when they did.
...A variation used elsewhere that isn't used in America. Do I even need to answer this or can you get it on your own?
I know you were homeschooled, but sometimes I think you give the American public school system far too much credit.
I...I don't know?
Apparently Canadians genuinely mock us over it, though. I've heard it independently from more than one of them.
The "it's too confusing" argument is such bullshit. I distinctly remember learning all about "vosotros" in my 7th grade Spanish class, and that's an entire set of verb conjugations that's only used in one country. Didn't confuse us any. :P
And in conclusion, I kind of hate everyone ever. *sigh*