Letter Series

Letter Series: A - No one knows why ‘A’ is the first letter of our alphabet. Come and read why this author thinks he might know.

Letter Series: B - Many people consider shelter to be the second most important ingredient for human survival. Coincidentally, the second letter in our alphabet evolved from the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph signifying shelter.

Letter Series: C - For much of their history, the ‘C’ and ‘G’ evolved as the same letter. The Phoenicians named this letter gimel, meaning “camel,” and used it to indicate the sound roughly equivalent to our present-day ‘g.’

Letter Series: D - When the Egyptians used the symbol for a hand (their word “deret”) to indicate the sound value of “D,” it served its purpose adequately. However, when the Phoenicians adopted much of the Egyptian hieratic system of writing…

Letter Series: E - As any Scrabble player will tell you, ‘E’ has always been an important letter in our alphabet, used more often than any other.

Letter Series: F - In its earliest years, the letter that evolved into our F was an Egyptian hieroglyph that literally was a picture of a snake.

Letter Series: G - Generally speaking, there are no launch dates for the letters of our alphabet, instead developing slowly over a long period of time. The letter G is the exception...

Letter Series: H - Stable and symmetrical, with both feet planted firmly on the ground, the H has been predictable in its design and use throughout much of its history.

Letter Series: I and J - The letters I and J follow each other in the alphabet and look a lot alike. So it comes as no surprise to discover that our ninth and tenth letters started out as the same character.

Letter Series: K - Some letters are slaves to fashion. They’ll change their images for any number of reasons: to satisfy the whim of some snazzy new writing utensil, or even because they’ve taken up with a different language.

Letter Series: L - Where did this useful L originate? The Egyptian equivalent of our L was first represented by the image of a lion.

Letter Series: M - Historians tell us that our current M started out as the Egyptian hieroglyph for “owl.” Over thousands of years, this simple line drawing was further distilled into the hieratic symbol for the ‘em’ sound.

Letter Series: N - The early form of the N was always closely associated with water. When the sign was used by the Phoenicians more than three thousand years ago, it was called “nun” (pronounced noon), which meant fish.

Letter Series: O - Have you ever noticed that when you say O, your mouth makes the shape of an O? This observation has sparked some charming imaginings about the letter’s origins, but the true story revolves around a different feature altogether.

Letter Series: P - New words are being invented all the time to keep up with changes in technology and daily life. This may have been one of the reasons the Phoenicians came up with the innovative notion of a phonetic alphabet.

Letter Series: Q - Monkey see, monkey Q – the typographic ancestor of our letter Q may have swung from a few trees before settling into its modern form. And the Greeks dropped the character entirely, so it’s the Etruscans we have to thank for our seventeenth letter.

Letter Series: R - When it comes to grace and subtlety, the R reigns supreme. From its earliest form as a representation of the human head, the R has undergone an “about-face” before evolving into its current, balanced shape.

Letter Series: S - Twists, turns, and reverses – these characterize both the form and history of the letter S. Follow the curving trail of its evolution from the ancient Egyptians to the present day.

Letter Series: T - T marks the spot – that doesn’t sound quite right, does it? But, in fact, it was the early mark X, used by illiterate folk to sign their names millenia ago, that ultimately became our T.

Letter Series: U, V, W and Y - That Phoenician “waw” is at it again – this time, we learn how that versatile symbol evolved over many centuries and cultures into our U, V, W, and Y.

Letter Series: X - We may not need the X, but we have it nonetheless. Though the origins of this letter are actually somewhat “fishy,” the X made its way into our alphabet by way of the usual suspects: the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Romans.

Letter Series: Z - Is this a dagger which I see before me? No, but it might be an early form of the letter Z. Nowadays we can’t imagine a parade of letters without a Z bringing up the rear, but our 26th letter almost never made it into the alphabet at all.

Letter Series: Numbers - Roman numerals can be quite attractive in chapter headings, but aren’t you glad you don’t have to do your taxes with them? Thank the Arabs for that – if not for their numbering system, Western mathematics would be X times as hard.

Letter Series: Punctuation - Punctuation marks tell us when to slow down, stop, get excited or lift a quizzical eyebrow. But punctuation marks weren’t added till long after written language evolved – and some people are still thinking of new symbols to add expressive punch to text.