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I didn't think I had to add an extra z when making it plural, but I did. Why is that? Just some weird anomaly like so many things in English spelling? Or is there a history behind it?

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    No, this one makes some sense. You have to add -es to make plural a word ending in z, but the e will mislead people to pronounce the preceding vowel (here, the i) long unless the intervening consonant (the z) is doubled. That is, quizes suggests it be pronounced kw-eye-zuz. English spelling still won't make sense, though. – deadrat Dec 14 '15 at 22:41
  • When you pronounce it, how many Z sounds do you hear? – Hot Licks Dec 14 '15 at 23:12
  • @deadrat - Amen to that bit about it not making sense. (If it made sense, I'd be able to buy two topazzes, instead of two topazes.) – J.R. Dec 14 '15 at 23:35
  • @J.R. But "topazes" only has one Z sound. Probably something to do with the A vs I mouth position before the first Z, and how that affects the pronunciation of the final "es" sound. – Hot Licks Dec 15 '15 at 14:13
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    @HotLicks - I don't pronounce the Z-sound in topazes any differently from how I say the Z-sound in quizzes. – J.R. Dec 15 '15 at 15:36
  • @J.R. - It's just that you pronounce two of them in "quizzes" but only one in "topazes". – Hot Licks Dec 15 '15 at 16:11
  • @HotLicks - To me, they're inseparable in both words. No difference. – J.R. Dec 15 '15 at 16:50

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