Irula script facts for kids

The letters we use every day have their own special names! Sometimes, we even use these names to make new words, like "tee-shirt" (from the letter T) or "deejay" (from DJ).

When we talk about more than one letter, like saying "many Bs," we usually just add an "s" to the capital letter. For example, "A" becomes "As." But for some letter names, like "aitch," "ess," and "ex," we add "-es" to make them plural, so they become "aitches," "esses," and "exes."

Modern English Letter Names

Here are the names of the letters in English and how often they appear in words:

How Letter Names Began

Most of our letter names come from the old Latin language. The names changed over time as languages like French and then English developed.

Some letters have interesting stories:

• Aitch comes from a Medieval Latin word, acca.
• Jay is a newer letter. Its name might have been chosen to sound different from "gee."
• Vee is also a new letter, named like most other letters.
• Double-u is a new letter too, and its name simply describes what it looks like: two "u"s joined together.
• Wye has a less clear origin, but it was used in Old French.
• Zed (used in British English) comes from an old Romance phrase meaning "and Z." Zee (used in American English) is a simpler version of "zed."

Sometimes, letters sound very similar when spoken, especially over a phone or radio. Think about "pee" and "bee," or "em" and "en." To avoid confusion, people like aircraft pilots and police use special Spelling alphabets. The ICAO spelling alphabet gives each letter a unique-sounding word, like "Alpha" for A, "Bravo" for B, and "Charlie" for C. This helps them understand each other clearly!

The Ampersand (&)

The symbol "&" is called an ampersand. It used to be considered the 27th letter of the English alphabet! Children in the US and other places were taught it as part of the alphabet.

This symbol is actually a combination of the letters "E" and "t" from the Latin word et, which means "and." In English, we use it to mean "and," or sometimes in abbreviations like "&c" for et cetera (which means "and so on").

Old English Letters

Long ago, in Old English and Middle English, there were some letters that aren't used anymore. These letters either had names from old runes (ancient symbols) or were runes themselves.

• Æ æ (called ash): This letter was used for a vowel sound that later disappeared and then came back in different ways.
• Ð ð (called edh or eth): This was used for sounds like the "th" in "this" or "thin."
• Œ œ (called ethel): This was another vowel sound that stopped being used quite early.
• Þ þ (called thorn): This letter was also used for the "th" sounds.
• Ƿ ƿ (called wyn or wynn): This was used for the "w" sound before the letter "w" was invented!
• Ȝ ȝ (called yogh): This letter was used for various sounds, including "gh" in words like "night."

Other Letters and Symbols

Beyond the basic alphabet, there are many other letters and symbols used in different languages or for special purposes, like in phonetics (the study of speech sounds). These often have extra marks called diacritics (like accents or dots) or are combinations of letters.

Letters with Special Marks

Many languages use letters with small marks, called diacritics, above or below them. These marks change how the letter is pronounced. For example:

• À à (A with a grave accent): Used in French and Italian.
• Á á (A with an acute accent): Used in Spanish and Hungarian.
• Ä ä (A with a diaeresis, or two dots): Used in German and Finnish.
• Ç ç (C with a cedilla): Used in French and Portuguese.
• Ñ ñ (N with a tilde): Used in Spanish.
• Ø ø (O with a stroke): Used in Danish and Norwegian.

These marks help show different sounds or tones in a language.

Combined Letters

Sometimes, two letters are joined together to make a single new letter or symbol. These are called ligatures or digraphs.

• Æ æ (called ash): This is a combination of A and E, used in Old English and some modern languages like Danish.
• Œ œ (called ethel): This is a combination of O and E, used in French.
• ß (called Sharp S or Eszett): This is a special letter used in German, which combines two "s" sounds.

These special letters and marks show how diverse and interesting alphabets can be around the world!