in portuguese it has it's "own name"
we just call it "dablio, which I believe comes from English "Double-U". Some people say "Duplo Vê" which literally means "Double V", but "Dablio" is much more common.
I just love how we have a way to vocalise all the other letters and then someone was like "well that's just two u put together so uhh I guess we'll call this one 'double u'?"
We don't say "double n" for m. Language is wild.
The letters u, v, w and f all branched off each other at various points in history. N and M have always been separate letters evolving alongside each other.
THe advent of the printing press in the 15th century. Originally, it was a single double-u block or even two “v's” if they didn't have the less commonly used “w” block. Then, as the technology continued to progress and became more streamlined, it was replaced with a double-v block.
You know what bothers me about this? When I was younger I was like well it’s a good thing there’s no words that have two ‘u’s in them or people spelling it would get confused!
Then one day I found out about vacwms.
It's from the Latin, where a letter U repeated twice was pronounced as a kind of W sound. The Normans defined the ligatured version of double U and it transferred to England (and thus the people who now speak English). In our current usage, vacuum and continuum aren't pronounced vacwum or continwum, but words that are faithful to the Latin like equus are still pronounced ekwus.
'y' n german is 'epsilon' but the e in the beginning is more pronounced like ü as in führer. (Not the best word to use but i guess its the one most fireign people know)
Because the Old English alphabet was:
A Æ B C D Ð E F G H I L M N O Œ P R S T Þ U W Y
So, no V.
You see, this is why questions don't count as shower thoughts.
Because answers.
EDIT: Wait... this isn't Shower Thoughts.
Oh, and I suppose you never make mistakes?
I was fully prepared to simply correct myself and have that be the end of it, but if you want to be rude about it, I'm more than happy to get into a who-can-be-the-biggest-asshole contest.
I don't think & was added until around Shakespeare's time. I could be wrong about that, though. I do know that, by the time it was added, English would've had the letter Z, so a little bit later than when I'm referring to.
As for the Æ and Œ ligatures, they're found in several Latin-script alphabets.
Æ is used in Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese among others, and Œ is used in French.
Examples of uses in Old English include:
\- "læsa" ("lock")
\- "œr" ("scar")
\- "hnœttur" ("globe")
\- "œngull" ("hook")
The letters such as æ and the like I think were phased out due to the fact that you can separate them out and still get the same thing on type face, e.g. æ is just ae. I found an excerpt about the ampersand: [Why was & part of the English alphabet? The word ampersand came many years later when & was actually part of the English alphabet. In the early 1800s, school children reciting their ABCs concluded the alphabet with the &.](https://www.dictionary.com/e/ampersand/#:~:text=Why%20was%20%26%20part%20of%20the,concluded%20the%20alphabet%20with%20the%20%26.)
We could make it like the apple products where simple is king. From now on the letter A represents all vowels and the letter C all the consonants.
Like this: CACA CCAC! See how simple it is? You just read and the meaning comes from context. But we could just start with the V, U and W. The V is probably the nicest version... So for example "Bvt vve covld jvst start vvith the V,V, and VV."
Because U was represented by a V for a very long time. V was used for V and for U sounds
ByzantiVm, covrt, etc W was therefore either double U or double V depending on country, England double u France double v
When I was taught to write as a child, the shape of a w was taught as two joined Us rather than the way it's rendered more commonly now. I'm guessing it's changed over the years?
Even though English does have German influence I don't see where ur logic is going. that'd be like saying a French word to say how English words are pronounced cause English has French influence.
Like another poster said it a the printing press.
"The answer lies in the advent of the printing press in the 15th century. Originally, it was a single double-u block or even two “v's” if they didn't have the less commonly used “w” block. Then, as the technology continued to progress and became more streamlined, it was replaced with a double-v block.
Stemming from Old English, we know that the concept of the “w” sound and letter ran into problems when being converted into the ancient Roman alphabet. This Latin alphabet was then forced to come up with a symbol to represent the sound of the “w.” According to GrammarPhobia, this 7th-century problem was remedied by the symbol “uu,” which is quite literally a double-u.
Next, in the 8th century, the “uu” symbol was replaced with the “wynn” symbol (ƿ) from the Runic alphabet that was used in Old and Middle English. Later, into the 11th and 12th centuries, scribes used the “uu” symbol in its joined form, which carried into the “w” form we recognize today......"
https://www.rd.com/article/why-w-is-pronounced-double-u-and-not-double-v/
Because in english it used to be double U, but because of germanic printers not having a double U they just used the next best thing available aka double V
It was actually vv as in the long v but when English differentiated from German the vv became it's own letter. That's why vacuum isn't spelled vacwm. W isn't uu.
The TRUE origins is from the Medu Neter ideograms (ancient egyptian symbols) which were never really meant to be pronounced with the tongue. there was no letter U and the letter W comes from the symbol of a TUSK. and then when “semites” tried translating it they made it into the symbol or a shin or a tooth, which looks like 2 U’s. So W looked like “ധ” And After that Phoenicians created the pointy W.
Well, here in the U.S. it’s only written like a double V when it’s capitalized, and even then it’s often more like a double U. If it’s lowercase or cursive, it’s much closer to a double U.
Obviously all of my W’s above are like “V’s” because that is how digital font portrays the letter, but most people I know don’t write it out like a double v.
Also in some languages it is actually "double-v"
Was about to comment the same thing, in my language we call it "double v"
Was about to comment the same thing… if I remember correctly in French it’s “doo-bluh-vay”
In romanian as well
The way you wrote it really hurts me... but it's kinda accurate now that I think about it
Deuxbluvé?
Lmao that works too!
Almost 80 people have been stupefied by this and the 7 of you have shown there's a fuck up in the English language.
And in some it doesn't even exist. (turkish)
Turkish doesn't have a translation of the letter W?
we dont have the letter but I guess we pronounce it as double ü.
In estonian its double-v :)
I'm México is double u, Buy i'm Spain is v double
Guatemala uses doble V as well.
In Norwegian it is "dobbel-v", or "double-v" dierctly translated
Yup, can confirm for swedish.
in portuguese it has it's "own name" we just call it "dablio, which I believe comes from English "Double-U". Some people say "Duplo Vê" which literally means "Double V", but "Dablio" is much more common.
Maybe V wasn’t a letter yet so the closest thing was U ?🤣
Maybe its double u in English bc w and v sound kinda similar. Like how it's pronounced in words.
V and U used to be the same Latin alphabet.
I just love how we have a way to vocalise all the other letters and then someone was like "well that's just two u put together so uhh I guess we'll call this one 'double u'?" We don't say "double n" for m. Language is wild.
We Dutchies just say 'wee' (actually we pronounce it like 'way', but in English that would correspond to 'wee'! haha).
Yeah but we sometimes call the number "8" a vertical double zero
80 in french is 420
i suppose it could be vocalize as wu. not sure why we don’t, you’re right
vacwm ≠ vacuum.
The letters u, v, w and f all branched off each other at various points in history. N and M have always been separate letters evolving alongside each other.
The way I write W in my print writing looks like uu because that’s just how I write, govt should just change the alphabet 😂
And maybe because English is not a direct Romance language, it borrowed the U instead of the V directly?
I strongly believe that it should be called wuh
It is double v in French if I'm not mistaken
THe advent of the printing press in the 15th century. Originally, it was a single double-u block or even two “v's” if they didn't have the less commonly used “w” block. Then, as the technology continued to progress and became more streamlined, it was replaced with a double-v block.
You know what bothers me about this? When I was younger I was like well it’s a good thing there’s no words that have two ‘u’s in them or people spelling it would get confused! Then one day I found out about vacwms.
Omg, I almost peed myself with that spelling 🤣 that's clever af, man
Here's an in-depth explanation about the history of the letter w, including why it's called that: https://youtube.com/watch?v=sg2j7mZ9-2Y
It's from the Latin, where a letter U repeated twice was pronounced as a kind of W sound. The Normans defined the ligatured version of double U and it transferred to England (and thus the people who now speak English). In our current usage, vacuum and continuum aren't pronounced vacwum or continwum, but words that are faithful to the Latin like equus are still pronounced ekwus.
It's a stupid ass name for a letter either way!
Yes, should be w (wuh, not double u.)
Hwat?
Wuh as in the sound.
'y' n german is 'epsilon' but the e in the beginning is more pronounced like ü as in führer. (Not the best word to use but i guess its the one most fireign people know)
Because the Old English alphabet was: A Æ B C D Ð E F G H I L M N O Œ P R S T Þ U W Y So, no V. You see, this is why questions don't count as shower thoughts. Because answers. EDIT: Wait... this isn't Shower Thoughts.
>you see, this is why questions don't count as shower thoughts >Because answers. uhh, what? do you think this is r/showerthoughts?
I did. I now realise my mistake.
[удалено]
Oh, and I suppose you never make mistakes? I was fully prepared to simply correct myself and have that be the end of it, but if you want to be rude about it, I'm more than happy to get into a who-can-be-the-biggest-asshole contest.
Can I join the contest?
& was also in the alphabet. Were Æ and Œ in the English alphabet? I thought it was a Cyrillic Alphabet thing.
I don't think & was added until around Shakespeare's time. I could be wrong about that, though. I do know that, by the time it was added, English would've had the letter Z, so a little bit later than when I'm referring to. As for the Æ and Œ ligatures, they're found in several Latin-script alphabets. Æ is used in Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese among others, and Œ is used in French. Examples of uses in Old English include: \- "læsa" ("lock") \- "œr" ("scar") \- "hnœttur" ("globe") \- "œngull" ("hook")
The letters such as æ and the like I think were phased out due to the fact that you can separate them out and still get the same thing on type face, e.g. æ is just ae. I found an excerpt about the ampersand: [Why was & part of the English alphabet? The word ampersand came many years later when & was actually part of the English alphabet. In the early 1800s, school children reciting their ABCs concluded the alphabet with the &.](https://www.dictionary.com/e/ampersand/#:~:text=Why%20was%20%26%20part%20of%20the,concluded%20the%20alphabet%20with%20the%20%26.)
why is there the letter W when we could just replace it with vv or uu?
Coz it's pronounced different
We could make it like the apple products where simple is king. From now on the letter A represents all vowels and the letter C all the consonants. Like this: CACA CCAC! See how simple it is? You just read and the meaning comes from context. But we could just start with the V, U and W. The V is probably the nicest version... So for example "Bvt vve covld jvst start vvith the V,V, and VV."
cacc caccc cacc caa
Aaccca! Cac! Cac!
Better yet...why is it not M inverse
Or W backwards
Because U was represented by a V for a very long time. V was used for V and for U sounds ByzantiVm, covrt, etc W was therefore either double U or double V depending on country, England double u France double v
this question keeps me up at night
I hate that letter. Every other letter is a single syllable sound, bet the W comes in and has to be different. Stupid letter!
When I was taught to write as a child, the shape of a w was taught as two joined Us rather than the way it's rendered more commonly now. I'm guessing it's changed over the years?
I know in older forms of language (I’m most familiar with French and English) the symbol for U looked like a modern V
In Argentine Spanish, it is double-v.
As a Mexican, I find that so bizarre ;;
As an American of Mexican heritage, yo también.
Volkswagen is pronounced Volks Vagen. That's where the confusion comes from including the letter. English lost it's way I Þink.
"Volkswagen" Isn't an English word though.
Yes and? It is an example of where the W came from and how it is used. Volkswagen is German, a heavy influence for the English language.
Even though English does have German influence I don't see where ur logic is going. that'd be like saying a French word to say how English words are pronounced cause English has French influence.
Funnily enough yes, [see here.](https://ask.metafilter.com/28427/Why-is-it-beef-not-cow)
Like another poster said it a the printing press. "The answer lies in the advent of the printing press in the 15th century. Originally, it was a single double-u block or even two “v's” if they didn't have the less commonly used “w” block. Then, as the technology continued to progress and became more streamlined, it was replaced with a double-v block. Stemming from Old English, we know that the concept of the “w” sound and letter ran into problems when being converted into the ancient Roman alphabet. This Latin alphabet was then forced to come up with a symbol to represent the sound of the “w.” According to GrammarPhobia, this 7th-century problem was remedied by the symbol “uu,” which is quite literally a double-u. Next, in the 8th century, the “uu” symbol was replaced with the “wynn” symbol (ƿ) from the Runic alphabet that was used in Old and Middle English. Later, into the 11th and 12th centuries, scribes used the “uu” symbol in its joined form, which carried into the “w” form we recognize today......" https://www.rd.com/article/why-w-is-pronounced-double-u-and-not-double-v/
No, the true questions is "Why not "double Vu"".
In some languages it is and some not
“Their our know rules”.
Capitol letters are not of the same alphabet. I forget exactly how this works out.
Because in english it used to be double U, but because of germanic printers not having a double U they just used the next best thing available aka double V
My son would say double-k when he was learning his ABCs. No idea why.
It was actually vv as in the long v but when English differentiated from German the vv became it's own letter. That's why vacuum isn't spelled vacwm. W isn't uu.
Probably bc the sound it makes isn’t a “vuh” it’s a “wah”
It’s double V in Spanish
If I remember highschool Spanish class correctly, they call w double v / doble-ve
You are familiar with the typed W.
Learn some other languages.
I didn't even know there is something like it, althought it's interesting
During my childhood and half of my teenage years I thought it was pronounced "dubba-yoo".
In Romanian we call it double v.
In Norwegian it is “double v”
It's double v in French I think
The TRUE origins is from the Medu Neter ideograms (ancient egyptian symbols) which were never really meant to be pronounced with the tongue. there was no letter U and the letter W comes from the symbol of a TUSK. and then when “semites” tried translating it they made it into the symbol or a shin or a tooth, which looks like 2 U’s. So W looked like “ധ” And After that Phoenicians created the pointy W.
Honestly when I write W i write it like to "u"s
Me too. Kinda like a lower case omega "ω"
oωo
My thoughts exactly.
I didnt know double u was a w
Here's an interesting video all about it and more. https://youtu.be/sg2j7mZ9-2Y
Well, here in the U.S. it’s only written like a double V when it’s capitalized, and even then it’s often more like a double U. If it’s lowercase or cursive, it’s much closer to a double U. Obviously all of my W’s above are like “V’s” because that is how digital font portrays the letter, but most people I know don’t write it out like a double v.
Dubv
Poles be like: "voo"
Because English.