The first 3D model I made in Blender was the snow man in this comic. It's literally 5 spheres, a cone, a light(included in default scene) and a plane. It shouldn't have been as difficult as it was to build, but the tutorial wasn't written well for somebody just starting with the software. Tutorials for Blender have gotten a lot better over time, although they still seem stuck on using key combinations and they don't always say what the key combination does. Just press O. Right. I knew that I'd eventually start using key combos eventually, since they are faster, but until I can remember if I press shift, control, alt, or some combination of those before I press the letter, I'm using the menus. Blender originally didn't even have menus. I'd hate to have learned it at that point. Oh, and NO UNDO function in the original version!
And on the subject of nobody pronouncing Z as "Zee" in tutorials, with such a low percentage of tutorials made in the United States, I get the feeling Blender isn't used very much here. That's a shame, because it's really a great program, albeit with a large learning curve. If you want to learn Blender, I recommend this page on CG Cookie to overcome the largest curve within 6 minutes(Interface and navigation video). Then head over to Blender's tutorials list for more. The list was nowhere near as good as that when I tried to start using it in either 2007 or 2008. I didn't return to Blender until 2011 starting with this comic(with another short try in 2009 where I used it for perspective).
Considering that, for example, z is pronounced "see" in Spanish, you could argue that it's for clarity of pronunciation for a wide range of viewers. More likely, it's done for the same reason people like to stick a "u" in "color". It sounds/look more Englishy than English. :p
At least they aren't certain old-fashioned, back-country Southerners who call it izzard (it chiefly survives in the phrase. "From Az to Izzard.") Wouldn't that drive Blenderheads up a tree – posting a tutorial which uses, "hit Control-Izzard to undo." :p
Considering that, for example, z is pronounced "see" in Spanish, you could argue that it's for clari
