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One of the few things I remember from my French classes in high school was that the letter is called "double V" in that language. Why did English opt for the "U" instead?

You can hear the French pronunciation here if you're unfamiliar with it:

https://www.frenchlearner.com/pronunciation/french-alphabet/

V and W are right next to each other in alphabetical order, which seems to lend further credence to the idea that it should be "Double V" and not "Double U". In fact, the letter U immediately precedes V, so the difference is highlighted in real-time as you go through the alphabet:

  • ...
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

It's obviously not at all important in the grand scheme of things, but I'm just curious why we went the way we did!

Cheers!

(page 2) 37 comments
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[-] nutsack@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

in many of the objectively superior languages, the names of letters correspond to the sounds they make. ah, beh, cuh, duh...

[-] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world -5 points 2 months ago

I dont get using several sounds tp represent one letter. Just do like us and say a, b, c...

[-] GetOffMyLan@programming.dev 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

The letter "W" is called "double U" because the Normans invented it by combining two pointed capital letters to represent the sound "w" in Anglo-Saxon words after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The name "double U" still indicates how the letter was created.

Before the Norman Conquest, the Latin letter "V" was used to represent both the "v" and "w" sounds. The Anglo-Saxons created a separate character called "wen" to represent the "w" sound. After the Norman Conquest, the Normans combined two pointed capital letters to create the "W" to represent the "w" sound in Anglo-Saxon words.

[-] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

FWIW Spanish has both, depending on the dialect. I grew up saying doble-u, but I know other countries say doble-ve

[-] Agent641@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Why do we say 'M' and not 'double N'?

Why aren't there doubles of more letters? I could go for a 'double O' or a 'double I"

Maybe even some 'double D's

[-] eric@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 months ago

Why do we say 'M' and not 'double N'?

It's more of of a N and a half.

[-] BoxOfFeet@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

At the very least. I'd go so far as to say letters up to and including double G would be desirable.

[-] Fallenwout@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Or just call it "we", like the first letter of w-ater.

[-] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago

In Hawaii, almost all W's are usually a long V, depending.

Ils sont juste bizzare les anglophones.

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this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2024
260 points (98.9% liked)

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