Surprising as it sounds, it looks like the English alphabet will be losing one of its letters on June 1st. The announcement came from the English Language Central Commission (ELCC).
Here is a quote from the press release:
After carefully considering and debating the matter for over two years, the ELCC came to the conclusion that the letter “Z” should be removed from the English alphabet. The main objective of this change is to simplify the phonetic aspect of the language, and to unify the American and British spellings.
What will happen to the words that have the letter “z” in them? It depends on the word. According to the ELCC, words that started with a “z” will now start with an “x”. Examples include:
- zero becomes xero
- zoo becomes xoo
- zone becomes xone
- zodiac becomes xodiac
Words that featured a “z” with the “s” sound, on the other hand, will now be officially written with the “s” (i.e., unifying the American and British spelling). Examples include:
- visualize becomes visualise
- analyze becomes analyse
- materialize becomes materialise
What do you think about this change? Will it really simplify the English language, or will it make things more confusing?
This post is an April fools prank.
Really it makes more confusion!!!!
What about words that already have x in them, like next. How do we spell those? nekst?
lolllzzzz.. foolish bit of news!!!!
I think the whole idea sux. For real the ELCC has nothing to do and they just want to make people know that they also exist but in a BAD way. I hope its nothing to do with the New World Order. They should remove X instead
This is stupid.
I have friends called Zev, and Zac.
Are they going to have to change their birth certificate, every form of ID and everything that has their name on it to Xev or Xac?
This is actually really stupid, and totally unfair to those people.
Might as well change the letter A to a.. G or K or something while you’re at it, just to confuse people some more.
I believe this is a hoax. See:
Love it! Got a huge chuckle reading the comments. They are at least, if not more funny than the original joke! ♥
Take our Z away?
No, NO, NO!
It would be as bad as changing the words to our National Anthem, Christmas Carols, the notes to the Blue Danube or to the Lord’s Prayer. What kind of ego does it take for someone to think they can change things that have been established for hundreds of years?
I don’t know about “z”, but I argued for the elimination of “c” from the English alphabet in a college Public Speaking class. It can be replaced by “s”, “k”, and “tsh”. Voila, no more “c”s and simpler spelling.
Somewhere, this is an upset Pat Sajak.
It was a great April Fool post.
I mentioned this on the email edition, but didn’t see it on the website, though I must admit I skimmed through the last fifty or so.
The letter Z is important for the officials on the Canada-USA border. If they have a reason to find out for sure someone claiming American citizenship is really from the USA and not Canada or the UK, ask him or her to say the last three letters of the alphabet. Most Canadians and Brits I’ve known would respond, “X Y Zed,” while US citizens will say, “X Y Zee.” Some in the US have never even heard of the letter Zed.
ok that wuld make it more confuseing like the word pizza or if z was removed pixxa
This is not good. You’re asking the world to do a very big unlearning activity that affects all languages. Not to mention the kids who have been accustomed to the 26 letters of the alphabet. Just please let it be how it is now. I don’t see how this is going to help us all live a better life. I don’t see this being the problem of most countries.
so i would be xoe. not bad, but this is a pretty stupid joke in my opinion.
and what about ctrl+z ??
ctrl + x is already globally assigned for cut ..
how to undo then 😛
So now the 3D space will have two x axes. And people will write “xxx” to stand for sleep. Not to mention whoever using spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel will be very confused if they use more than 25 columns.
On the joke itself, well, it’s too obvious.
lool.only now they remember to unify the language.thers many things must unify not only this at all.i think its bad idea.
I think the whole idea is stupid. it be really confusing if z was taken out. i personally think nothing should be changed about the alphabet. i agree with Ben when it come to people with having that letter in there name. it be just horrible for those people.
these people are crazy/crasy to try to take the letter z out of the alphabet. why not take X out. we use it far less.
what iz this? & @bluebird..GENIUS. but let us evaluate the konsept of speech regarding giving the other26 letterz ekstra work to do. For instance ‘x-ray’ EKSRAY?? or ‘chris’ kris?, noooo i would never put a ‘K’ In front of my name, it soundz unintellijent and ridikulous. <— imagine typing like that ??????? now that appears to be unintelligent, for the sake of keeping the English language at its height, we should appreciate every letter. and to all those idiots out there, pluto was, is, and always will be a planet, and it is within this solar system!!! so "put it back" since as you went up there and 'took it out of our solar system'
it dose not matter u cant stop peopul they are alredy spelling however they went becuse they are to dam lasy an pridful to look up there words in the dicshionary or use e spell checker. Thanks too celuler texting 2! Let evryone have there oun language and no wun will undarstend anwon enymor So their!
I think I just threw up a little.
Oh no! Pleeez! I wanna keep my name! U can’t jus squash me n throw me away like dat. Wat about da Zebras in da world? Wat wud bcome of dem?
The better rule would be that Z becomes S when following a vowel, X otherwise.
The letter S already makes the Z sound in many words, most notroious of all in plurals. This change is good because it officializes this fact.
You wouldn’t remove Z, you’d only make it look identical to X. The uppercase letters could still look different.
Some words might be spelled the same if Z becomes an S. Do avoid this you could 1) make the word with the S sound use double Ss, 2) change the word with the S sound to use a C, or 3) add a silent E after the S to give it a Z sound.
If the French had been proposing this it would be to keep the ‘z’ and remove the hard ‘th’ zat way zee froggies would be able to speak perfect English
I think it is one of the most stupidest things i have ever heard. Why change something that has been taught to every human being. Its just going to cause so much trouble in the school systems. i mean thank about it, all these younger kids that learned how to spell zoo (with a Z) are going to have to learn it all over again with a x. there will be so many pist off parents, because there kid/kids will be so confused. ELCC are u going to help the poor little kids who get all confused, because now there is no z in the alphabet. like i said its stupid and a bunch of bs. and yeah i hope its a early april 1st joke to.
No! I love the letter ‘Z’…..nd not only that but it sounds better when u say La’z’er than wen u say La’s’er!
Its gonna make things confusing so dont even think about removing tht letter! 😛
I am seriously proposing adding 2 additional letters to improve life’s possibilities. Phonetically “li” ^ and “Loat” ^+ is like plural but means all possibilities. ^+ is all positive possibilities and can used as putting a + inside an o or an a like crossing a t.
possibility^ Consider all possibilities or outcomes on all levels
Possibility^+ all positive outcomes or possibilities on all levels
consi^der consider all possibilities , think outside the box
consider^+ consider all positive possibilities, think outside the box
This is no April fools^ joke. I am thinking^+ of adding these to letters and how it will^+ Improve^= life by adding more options and positive possibilities.
Could it be the fourth to, too two, to^?
Sincerely,
Greg Shaw
The UK is changing their language in an attempt to wipe Zion off the map and they do not have the final say and should beware;
The Bible is filled with z words and on the very last page is written:
Revelation 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city (Zion), and from the things which are written in this book.
Why? I mean z is an awesome letter why not take out Q or K?
The message began as an April Fool’s joke that has escaped its original context. There are no plans to remove the letter Z from the English alphabet and no such entity as the “English Language Central Commission”.
This is not real
This is a prank APRIL FOOLS JOKE ITS Fake!!!!!!!!
What a stupid joke…
Ok…April fool’s joke? I ask the question: June 1st of which year?… I am going to look up this entity the “English Language Central Commission”. Any way, I think the letter Z is the most sweet sound, so peaceful and soft ZZZZZzzzz
Removing the letter z from the alphabet is not reasonable and should NOT be done because of SOUND. Changing the words from “realize” to “realise” causes a SOUND change. I know this from working with singing and working with voice teachers who teach SOUND. “Z”, has it’s OWN particular sound, and the change from realize to realise CHANGES the sound from a Z letter to an S letter. Go ahead, sound it out. Saying the word REALISE, with an S, you have now changed the Z part of realize, to an sssssss sound as in ssssssssnake. It’s NOT the same SOUNDING word as REALIZE. Same with marginalize, capitalize, etc. We ALSO have to change the way we SAY these words, if this change is permanently made. I personally DON’T LIKE IT. The Z has purpose, and has been this way for most of the history of America. LET’S KEEP IT.
In reference to this unelected ‘who-cares’ commission: The replacement of Z with an S shows the overbearing stupidity and self-righteous audacity of a self-appointed group of pseudo-thinkers attempting to enforce their boredom in an attempt of self-justification on an ever-increasingly stupid population.
The removal of a letter only works to destroy a language and restricts or confines the ability to think.
This “decision” by so-called thinkers is tantamount to removing purple becuase it’s too much like blue.
This is a mockery of a person’s intelligence and anyone who replaces a Z with an S show’s their inability to think on their own, showing how little intelligence they have, and how unlike a true journalist they are.
So maybe, this removal is a good thing, then we cal tell who are the journalists that regurgitate the agenda, and those who just report their news.
I suggest that the letter z should be removed asap. my crushs names is zoe but I want a reason to talk to her therefore please help me out by removing the letter so I can talk to her about this.
I think this a joke. Hey, did you notice that all of these comments were posted on April fools day? Is that a sight that it is a joke? Is it true? Anyway, getting rid of “Z” would be an unhelpful action and should not be done. YOU SHOULDN’T MAKE A FALSE WEBSITE LIKE THAT AND EVERYONE WILL SEE IT! And if it is true, whoever made English and wants to change it should be ashamed of themselves for such foolishness! I mean, the word amazing will be amaxing? That is just wrong! Of it still happens on June 1, I will still write things the normal way. THIS A FAKE, UNHELPFUL, FAUX,BAD WEBSITE THAT WAS MADE TO TRICK LITTLE KIDS INTO THINKING THAT “Z” WILL BE GONE! DON’T LISTEN TO THIS SITE!
Removing Z is zaney and the bad dream of some linguistic wizard. Kids won’t be able to understand old books and old keyboards. This is beyond absurd and there will be a huge outcry against this idea. Is this the result of some mad internationalist linguist? I taught school for 35 years and college for 15 years. I went to college for 20 yrs and have 2 master’s degrees. I have written 3 books and do you think I am going to go along with this insanity? You will create chaos and revolt. It is against even Biblical principles to remove ancient landmarks and our alphabet letters are like landmarks of our speech and thought processes. Besides Z has a dental sound and S is formed on the upper front pre dental gum ridge. Z is a distinct sound and needs it’s’ own letter. Coo koo! Why do we even think of trusting a group of supposed experts to tell a billion people who use English what letters they can use? Usage should dictate letters and spelling. It is like the nut jobs who decided that Pluto was not a planet so they could better fit it into their model of planetary bodies.Yes its irregular orbit is not in the flat disk of the other planets but its historical discovery and common usage puts it in with the planets. It is like the ideas to abandon base 10 for numbers for base 12 or base 16 or binary to the infinite confusion of everybody. Or to create some world government and society to have uniform laws and language and commerce throughout the world. Esperanto went nowhere, nations are leaving the EU, and some nations are dumping dollats in favor of their own currencies or going to gold. No small elite group can or should decide what is best for everyone! It is sheer madness. The society in Plato’s Republic is definitely not the model for democratic society or human freedom. I once taught in a school where the area between the buildings flooded in severe weather. Now almost every year for 15 years experts came out looking down the drain like a bunch of turkeys looking down a hole and no one could figure out how to solve the problem……but I’ll bet a third world hog farmer with a ditchwitch and some corregated metal drain pipe could figure it out real quick!!! The public is not so stupid that they must be coerced and told what to do or what letters they need to use to spell their own name! The common man does what he wants to do and it usually turns out much better than when some “experts” often motivated by their fanciful theories tell him what to do. !!!!!!!£
We need the letter “z”. It’s the letter “x” that we do not need because you can use a “ks”. “Xylophone” should be spelled “Zylophone”. We can also remove the letter “q”. Just replace it with a “kw”. The letter “c” usually makes the “kuh” sound, which the letter “k” always makes. The letter “c” can also make a “suh” sound, which the letter “s” always makes. The “ch” should be replaced with “kh”. We don’t need the letter “c”.
I believe T should be removed from the English alphabet not Z!
OMG is this actually happnig? I have thousands of friends named Zoe! AGGHH
Remember when the US tried to convert the unit of measure to the “metric system”? Didn’t work out so well, did it. Ther isn’t any rime or reason why we need to remove the letter “Z” from the Enghish language. Nobody should have the right to change anything in our language. English is the offical USA language. All 26 letter belong to all of us. . We need to stop tring to be like other countries, and start being more like America.
What absolute load of tosh. I for one will continue with our beloved English alphabet. I am sure also that my niece Zoe will have something to say regarding this.
First off, just to let another commenter and set the record straight, the United States, does not, and never has had an official language. In fact, there has never been a bill or law passed that states that the “official language” of the United States, is English. Although there are several states who have passed bill making English the official language of that state, in reality, it violates the “due process clause” of the fourteenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
There have been several letters in the English language that have gone out of use. Ash (Æ/æ), eth (Ð/ð), yogh (Ȝ/ȝ), eng (Ŋ/ŋ), ethel (Œ/œ), long s (ſ), thorn (Þ//þ), and wynn (Ƿ/ƿ). But here’s the best part: there is no such organization as the English Language Central Commission (ELCC). Not only is there no such organization, there is not even a single international organization that has the power or authority to do so. This is most definitely a hoax, probably an April Fool’s joke. It was probably some Brit’s elaborate prank designed to piss off Americans and other non-British English speaking people.
I dare you remove the first letter in my name….. I take pride in my name starting with Z. I will not be changing it for anyone. A to Z is always and forever will be.
Good post steven triana! This is either a hoax, a stupid joke or both. So the world Zinc would be xink? It is a puxxle that isn’t worth solving.
What about z for zebra wil it be xebra
What would become of my name??? That’s just really short sighted.
“Alexander” ugh, how stupid.
I “rezist” it. Z is not unnecessary but underused. S is the overused letter that misleads the reader and makes him to think that the consonant is unvoiced rather than voiced. We should not remove the letter Z, we should replace the letter S with the letter Z everywhere it’s pronounced as a voiced consonant so that we will be less “confuzed” between the two sounds. On the other hand, we should remove the letters C Q and X, because they have no unique sound, or at least change their phonetic use.