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English alphabetThe modern English alphabet is a Latin-based alphabet consisting of 26 letters – the same letters that are found in the Basic modern Latin alphabet: The exact shape of printed letters varies depending on the typeface. The shape of handwritten letters can differ significantly from the standard printed form (and between individuals), especially when written in cursive style. See the individual letter articles for information about letter shapes and origins (follow the links on any of the uppercase letters above). Written English also uses a number of digraphs, but they are not considered to be part of the alphabet. HistoryOld EnglishThe English language was first written in the Anglo-Saxon futhorc runic alphabet, in use from the fifth century. This alphabet was brought to what is now England, along with the proto-form of the language itself, by Anglo-Saxon settlers. Very few examples of this form of written Old English have survived, these being mostly short inscriptions or fragments. The Latin alphabet, introduced by Christian missionaries, began to replace the Anglo-Saxon futhorc from about the seventh century, although the two continued in parallel for some time. Futhorc influenced the Latin alphabet by providing it with the letters thorn (Þ þ) and wynn (Ƿ ƿ). The letter eth (Ð ð) was later devised as a modification of d, and finally yogh (Ȝ ȝ) was created by Norman scribes from the insular g in Old English and Irish, and used alongside their Carolingian g. The a-e ligature æsc (ash, Æ æ) was adopted as a letter its own right, named after a futhorc rune. In very early Old English the o-e ligature œðel (ethel, Œ œ) also appeared as a distinct letter, likewise named after a rune, odal. Additionally, the v-v ligature w (double-u) was in use. In the year 1011, a writer named Byrhtferð ordered the Old English alphabet for numerological purposes. He listed the 24 letters of the Latin alphabet (including ampersand) first, then 5 additional English letters, starting with the Tironian note ond (⁊) an insular symbol for and:
Modern EnglishIn the orthography of Modern English, thorn (þ), eth (ð), wynn (ƿ), and yogh (ȝ) are obsolete, and the use of ash (æ) and ethel (œ) has become rather archaic. Thorn and eth are now both represented by th, though thorn continued in existence for some time, its lowercase form gradually becoming graphically indistinguishable from the minuscule y in most handwriting. Y for th can still be seen in pseudo-archaisms such as “Ye Olde Booke Shoppe”. The letters þ and ð are still used in present-day Icelandic. Wynn disappeared from English around the fourteenth century when it was supplanted by uu, which ultimately developed into the modern w. Yogh disappeared around the fifteenth century and was typically replaced by gh. The letters u and j, as distinct from v and i, were introduced in the sixteenth century, and w assumed the status of an independent letter, so that the English alphabet is now considered to consist of the following 26 letters:
The variant lowercase form long s (ſ) lasted into early modern English, and was used in non-final position up to the early nineteenth century. The ligatures æ and œ are still used in formal writing for certain words of Greek or Latin origin, such as encyclopædia and cœlom. Lack of awareness and technological limitations (such as their absence from the standard qwerty keyboard) have made it common to see these rendered as "ae" and "oe", respectively, in modern, non-academic usage. These ligatures are not used in American English, where a lone e has mostly supplanted both (for example, encyclopedia for encyclopædia, and fetus for fœtus; note, however, archaeology). DiacriticsDiacritic marks mainly appear in loanwords such as naïve and façade. As such words become naturalised there is a tendency to drop the diacritics, as is now often the case with the two mentioned. Words that are still perceived as foreign tend to retain them; for example, the only spelling of soupçon found in English dictionaries (the OED and others) uses the diacritic. Diacritics are also more likely to be retained where there would otherwise be confusion with another word (for example, résumé rather than resume), and, rarely, even added (as in maté, from Spanish yerba mate, but following the pattern of café, from French). Occasionally, especially in older writing, diacritics are used to indicate the syllables of a word: cursed (verb) is pronounced with one syllable, while cursèd (adjective) is pronounced with two. Similarly, while in chicken coop the letters -oo- represent a single vowel sound (a digraph), in zoölogist and coöperation, they represent two. An acute, grave or trema may also be placed over an 'e' at the end of a word to indicate that it is not silent and how it is pronounced. These devices, are, however, optional, and are in practice now rarely used even where they would serve to alleviate some degree of confusion. (Read more) |
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