Questions regarding the English alphabet.
The English alphabet consists of the following symbols:
Uppercase (capital) forms: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Lowercase forms: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Questions tagged [alphabet]
82 questions
28
votes
2 answers
Why is X used when we pronounce it Z?
I've seen a lot of words use an X but be pronounced with a Z. Mitch Hedberg put it best:
Xylophone is spelled with an X, that's wrong, xylophone's zzzz, X? I don't $%(@#& see it. It should be a Z up front, next time you have to spell xylophone, use…
Kredns
- 382
7
votes
4 answers
Meaningful English sentences containing very few distinct letters
An English pangram is a sentence that contains each of the 26 letters used in English, the classic example being `the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.' What I am looking for is precisely the opposite. I am looking for meaningful English…
James Fennell
- 333
6
votes
2 answers
I'm trying to teach Non-English kids the alphabet. What is a good list of words starting with A-Z?
I am writing a small software program to teach non-English-speaking kids English Alphabets from A to Z. Is there any list of simple English words which begin with each letter?
For example Apple for "A", Black or Blue or Blackboard for "B", Zebra for…
bman
- 314
6
votes
1 answer
Why is the letter "w" not pronounced "double v"?
Was "w" written with smoother curves back then?
sparkledot
- 238
5
votes
2 answers
Difference between Letter and Alphabet in English
Can anyone please explain what is the difference between "Letter" and "Alphabet" in English?
Arvind07
- 153
3
votes
1 answer
What are the least common letters to start words?
What letters of the alphabet least commonly appear as the first letter of a word? I'm looking in particular for the 4 least common, but however many you want to give beyond that is welcome.
Mr. Bultitude
- 197
2
votes
3 answers
What is the name of the basis writing stroke?
I can't recall the name of the standard writing stroke in the English script. Apologies in advance if this is off topic.
This stroke is the single vertical stroke fundamental to many letters. A single stroke is the basis for the letter i, a…
Klar
- 21
1
vote
2 answers
Why is the letter "w" the only letter in (basic) English alphabet that is not read as one syllable?
Possible Duplicate:
Why is a w a “Double u”, but an m is not a “Double n”?
Is there any reason/history as to why "w" is the only letter in English alphabet that is not pronounced as one syllable?
1
vote
2 answers
Similarities between Latin Letters
Have there been any studies done into the similarity between individual latin letters? I'm hoping for something (preferably with letters in Arial font) where a letter has been given and the chance of other letters being confused with it is the…
Overt_Agent
- 161
1
vote
2 answers
What Character Was Removed from the Alphabet?
From:
http://blog.dictionary.com/ampersand/
the ampersand today is used primarily in business names, but that small character was once the 27th part of the alphabet.
Is this true? Are there any more 'letters' removed from the English alphabet?
JMP
- 3,614
1
vote
5 answers
Are there any plans to extend the English alphabet
Certain sounds possibly deserve their own letter in the alphabet, are there any indication that some more letter may be added to the English alphabet?
benhowdle89
- 609
0
votes
0 answers
Why is letter "z" the last letter of alphabet?
it's been on my mind for sometime, why is Z last letter of alphabet, why is A the first, why is D the 4th letter, are these letters just based randomly then people agreed on them, therefore creating the "alphabetic order" or were they based on…
Thesnake123
- 17
0
votes
1 answer
Why does the Greek letter lambda often get substituted for the letter A?
It happens a lot with commercial products, for example the car company Kia. Except they spell if Kappa Iota Lambda (KIL). Why? That is just one example among many I see nowadays. Are all these companies just trying to be cute or is there…
Yanni
- 13
0
votes
0 answers
Do English alphabet come under latin characters?
I haven't been able to infer whether latin characters are different from English alphabet or English alphabet are a subset of latin characters, as I came across several versions of latin.
Trying to find an answer as one of the driving rules of a…
Ashfame
- 101
0
votes
1 answer
Why hasn't the pronunciation of w been shortened?
"Double u" is a rather long pronunciation for a letter. Why do we not yet have a shortened pronunciation yet? Is the letter simply too young, or are there other reasons?
user66219