How many letters are there in the English alphabet?
13-Aug-2024 05:22 AM
Are you planning to learn vocational English or any other language at an Australian university? Language studies have become quite prevalent in recent times, with more aspiring students willing to choose a different lingua from their native as an optional course.
Learning different languages not only makes you proficient in speaking but also helps build a strong career portfolio, especially if you completed the certification from a prestigious college in Australia. However, mastering a new language will mean starting from scratch and that’s the letters of their alphabet.
What Are Alphabets In general?
In textbook definition, an alphabet can be considered as a superset of several letters that uniformly represent the phonetic sounds of the language. For example, in the English alphabet, you will have 26 letters, starting from “A” to “Z”.
Each letter has a different sound that helps build the language and give a form to the words. Sometimes, a letter can have different sounds depending on the context where it is being used. Additionally, a combination of two letters can have a specific sound, like “CH” or “SH” in the English alphabet.
What are the letters in the English alphabet?
The English alphabet has 26 letters in it, which are:
• Upper case letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
• Lower case letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z
These letters are joined together in different ways to give a proper literal and contextual meaning to the words and further convey the ideas and expressions of an individual.
Origin and historic evolution of the English alphabet
Every language has a deep-seated history and the English alphabet has its roots tracing back to the Latin language. In earlier days, the Romans used the Latin language as their native-speaking term.
At that time, almost around the 16th century, Britain still used the older alphabet of the old German English language, also termed the runic alphabet.
The modern English alphabet came into existence after the Romans came to Britain and combined their Latin alphabet with the old German ones. For example, the Latin language didn’t have a “W” in it.
However, in old German English, thorn was used as a runic alphabet, which can be further segregated into “th” and “wynn” sounds. It is this “wynn” hymn that evolved into the modern-day English letter “W”.
Similarly, in the late 16th century, the letters “J” and “U” were added to the modern English alphabet set, which resulted in 26 letters that we use nowadays to learn the language. It was in 1604 that the first English dictionary, The Table Alphabeticall, was introduced by Robert Cawdrey.
Understanding The Differences Between An Alphabet And A Letter
To have further clarity about the alphabet and the letters of the English language, let’s have a look at the differences between these two elements which lay the cornerstone of any lingua franca.
| Alphabet | Letter |
| It is formed by combining a set of letters that can meaningfully form a group of basic phonetics. | A letter can be considered an individual entity with a phonetic sound. |
| An alphabet will always have a specific number of letters. For example, the modern English alphabet has 26 letters while the older one has 24 letters. | The number of letters in a language can be innumerable, depending on the alphabet sets, special characters, and many more. |
| All the alphabets need to be written in an orderly form following a specific convention. | Letters can have varied styles and representations based on contextual and literal meanings and phonetics. |
| Alphabets are important for the written version of a language. | Letters are used both in verbal communication and writing. |
| The phonetics of an alphabet are always fixed due to the conventional ordering of the comprising letters. | Letters can be conjoined together to form a word, which means their sounds and expressions can vary based on the context. |
What Are Some of the Major Alphabetical Systems In The World?
Apart from the English alphabet, several other major systems are followed to date. If you are planning to learn a vocational or literature course in Australia, knowing about these alphabetical systems will be helpful.
-
Latin: This is one of the oldest and most common alphabetical systems used in the Western world, including in the English language.
-
Greek: Before the Latin language came into existence, the Greek alphabetical system was used in European countries.
-
Chinese: In the Asian subcontinent, the Chinese alphabetical system is quite prevalent and has been considered as a logographic system for several other East Asian languages, like Mandarin and Cantonese.
-
Arabic: One of the most popular alphabets in the Middle East that is still used in current days is the Arabic alphabetical system. It forms the backbone of the Arabic language and several others like Urdu and Persian.
Conclusion
Studying literature or vocation courses is not a matter of joke. Apart from being creative, you need to master the art of using alphabets and letters to bend the language as per your ideas and expressions. So, if you require expert guidance in your literature assignments and projects, we at Digi Assignment Help are here to help you out.
