Quote:
Originally posted by MysticCat81
The "vowel thing" is a Greek urban legend. "Zeye" for X is an American-anglicized pronunciation. "Zee" (or "See") is closer to the Greek pronunciation -- the actual Greek pronunciation is "KSee," but we English speakers aren't used to beginning a word with a "KS" sound. (Which is why we say "Zylophone" instead of "KSylophone"). I think, but am not sure, that the British typically also say "Zee" or "See."
As for U, either "UP-silon" or "OOPS-ilon" are considered proper American-anglicized pronunciations. In Greek, the first vowel is an umlaut, so you would hold your tongue to say "ee" but your mouth in the shape for "oo" and say "ee/oo-psee-lon."
(Did I get all that right, kddonline?  )
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You definitely get an 'A' for your explanation!
I am even impressed with the insertion of the Greek letters!
However,
U is actually simply pronounced "eep-see-lon."
(The Greek alphabet has 3 letters that make the "ee" sound: eta, iota and upsilon.)