Letter (alphabet)
3675310
225093757
2008-07-11T21:10:46Z
AndrewHowse
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/* Upper and lower case */ disambig [[minuscule]] to [[lower case]]
[[Image:Caslon-schriftmusterblatt.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|''A Specimen'' of typeset fonts and languages, by William Caslon, letter founder; from the 1728 ''[[Cyclopaedia]]''.]]
[[Image:NAMA Alphabet grec.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Ancient Greek letters on a vase]]
A '''letter''' is an element in an [[alphabet]]ic system of writing, such as the [[Greek alphabet]] and its descendants. Each letter in the written language is usually associated with one [[phoneme]] (sound) in the spoken form of the language. Written signs in earlier writings are best called [[syllabogram]]s (which denote a [[syllable]]) or [[logogram]]s (which denote a word or phrase).
==Overview and usage==
As symbols that denote segmental speech, letters are associated with [[phonetics]]. In a purely [[phonemic]] alphabet, a single phoneme is denoted by a single letter, but in history and practice letters often denote more than one phoneme. A pair of letters designating a single phoneme is called a [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]]. Examples of digraphs in English include "ch", "sh" and "th". A phoneme can also be represented by three letters, called a [[trigraph (orthography)|trigraph]]. An example is the combination "sch" in German.
A letter may also be associated with more than one phoneme, with the phoneme depending on the surrounding letters or etymology of the word. As an example of positional effects, the Spanish letter '''c''' is pronounced [k] before ''a'', ''o'', or ''u'' (e.g. ''cantar'', ''corto'', ''cuidado''), but is pronounced [s] before ''e'' or ''i'' (e.g. ''centimo'', ''ciudad'').
Letters also have specific names associated with them. These names may differ with language, dialect and history. [[Z]], for example, is usually called ''zed'' in all English-speaking countries except the U.S., where it is named ''zee''.
Letters, as elements of alphabets, have prescribed orders. This may generally be known as "alphabetical order" though [[collation]] is the science devoted to the complex task of ordering and sorting of letters and words in different languages. In Spanish, for instance, [[ñ]] is a separate letter being sorted after n. In English, n and ñ are sorted alike.
Letters may also have numerical value. This is true of [[Roman numerals]] and the letters of other writing systems. In English, [[Arabic numerals]] are typically used instead of letters.
==History==
{{Main|History of the alphabet}}
The invention of letters was preceded by the West Semitic script, which appeared in Canaan around [[1000 BC]]. Antecedents are suspected in the [[Proto-Canaanite]] writing, dated to around 1800 BC, Virtually all alphabets have their ultimate origins from this system. The [[Greek alphabet]] was invented around [[800s BC|800 BC]].
==Letter Sentences==
Here are some 26 alphabet sentences:
* A * An alligator and an ant added apples.
* B * Bouncing boys break beds before bedtime.
* C * Cute cuddly cats crunch cucumbers.
* D * Darling dogs dance daintily in the daisies.
* E * Eddie enjoys extra eggs every morning.
* F * Funny Freddie fried five fish for food.
* G * Grumpy gorillas grab gorgeous girls.
* H * Hungry horses hate having hiccups.
* I * Impolite insects ignore icky inchworms.
* J * Jolly jellyfish jump for joy.
* K * Kind kangaroos kiss koalas.
* L * Lovely lions leap over lazy leopards.
* M * Many monkeys make mailmen mad.
* N * Nice nanny goats never notices new neon necklaces.
* O * Ollie Octopus often objects to olives.
* P * Polly Porcupine pokes people.
* Q * Quaint queens quietly quit quilting.
* R * Rough rats run rowdy races.
* S * Sweaty socks sometimes smell stinky.
* T * Two turtles toppled twenty tulips.
* U * Ugly umbrellas unexpectedly open up.
* V * Volcanoes vibrate very vocal vultures.
* W * Willie watches Wilma Walrus walk wonderfully.
* X * The fox will fix box six.
* Y * Your yellow yams are yummy.
* Z * Zany zebra zigzag at the zoo.
==Types of letters==
===Various scripts===
The following "alphabets" (not all are alphabets) and individual letters are discussed in related articles. Each represents a different script:
[[Arabic alphabet]]: (Alphabetical from right to left) [[Aleph|{{lang|ar|ﺍ}}]], [[Beth (letter)|{{lang|ar|ﺏ}}]], [[Taw (letter)|{{lang|ar|ﺕ}}]], [[ṯāʼ|{{lang|ar|ﺙ}}]], [[Gimel (letter)|{{lang|ar|ﺝ}}]], [[Heth (letter)|{{lang|ar|ﺡ}}]], [[ḫāʼ|{{lang|ar|ﺥ}}]], [[Dalet|{{lang|ar|ﺩ}}]], [[ḏāl|{{lang|ar|ﺫ}}]], [[Resh|{{lang|ar|ﺭ}}]], [[Zayin|{{lang|ar|ﺯ}}]], [[Shin (letter)|{{lang|ar|ﺱ}}]], [[Shin (letter)|{{lang|ar|ﺵ}}]], [[Tsade|{{lang|ar|ﺹ}}]], [[ḍād|{{lang|ar|ﺽ}}]], [[Teth|{{lang|ar|ﻁ}}]], [[ẓāʼ|{{lang|ar|ﻅ}}]], [[Ayin|{{lang|ar|ﻉ}}]], [[ġayn|{{lang|ar|ﻍ}}]], [[Pe (letter)|{{lang|ar|ﻑ}}]], [[Qoph|{{lang|ar|ﻕ}}]], [[Kaph|{{lang|ar|ﻙ}}]], [[Lamedh|{{lang|ar|ﻝ}}]], [[Mem|{{lang|ar|ﻡ}}]], [[Nun (letter)|{{lang|ar|ﻥ}}]], [[He (letter)|{{lang|ar|هـ}}]], [[Waw (letter)|{{lang|ar|ﻭ}}]], [[Yodh|{{lang|ar|ﻱ}}]].
[[Cyrillic alphabet]]: [[А]], [[Б]], [[В]], [[Г]], [[Ґ]], [[Д]], [[Е]], [[Є]], [[Ж]], [[З]], [[И]], [[І]], [[Ї]], [[Й]], [[К]], [[Л]], [[М]], [[Н]], [[О]], [[П]], [[Р]], [[С]], [[Т]], [[У]], [[Ф]], [[Х]], [[Ц]], [[Ч]], [[Ш]], [[Щ]], [[Ю]], [[Я]], [[Ъ]], [[Ь]], [[Ђ]], [[Љ]], [[Њ]], [[Ћ]], [[Џ]].
[[Greek alphabet]]: [[Alpha (letter)|Α]], [[Beta (letter)|Β]], [[Gamma|Γ]], [[Delta (letter)|Δ]], [[Epsilon|Ε]], [[Zeta (letter)|Ζ]], [[Eta (letter)|Η]], [[Theta|Θ]], [[Iota|Ι]], [[Kappa (letter)|Κ]], [[Lambda|Λ]], [[Mu (letter)|Μ]], [[Nu (letter)|Ν]], [[Xi|Ξ]], [[Omicron|Ο]], [[Pi (letter)|Π]], [[Rho (letter)|Ρ]], [[Sigma (letter)|Σ]], [[Tau|Τ]], [[Upsilon|Υ]], [[Phi|Φ]], [[Chi (letter)|Χ]], [[Psi (letter)|Ψ]], [[Omega|Ω]].
[[Hebrew alphabet]]: (Alphabetical from right to left) [[Aleph (letter)|א]], [[Beth (letter)|ב]], [[Gimel (letter)|ג]], [[Dalet|ד]], [[He (letter)|ה]], [[Waw (letter)|ו]], [[Zayin|ז]], [[Heth|ח]], [[Teth|ט]], [[Yodh|י]], [[Kaph|כ]], [[Lamedh|ל]], [[Mem|מ]], [[Nun (letter)|נ]], [[Samekh|ס]], [[Ayin|ע]], [[Pe (letter)|פ]], [[Tsade|צ]], [[Qoph|ק]], [[Resh|ר]], [[Shin (letter)|ש]], [[Taw (letter)|ת]].
[[Latin alphabet]]: [[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]].
For other writing systems and their letters, see [[List of writing systems]] and [[List of alphabets]].
[[Image:Cyrillic JA.png|thumb|A [[Cyrillic]] letter [[Ya (Cyrillic)|Я]] shown in upper and lower case, and in italics]]
===Upper and lower case===
{{main|Letter case|Capital letters|Lower case}}
Some writing systems have two major forms for each letter: an ''upper case'' form (also called ''capital'' or ''[[majuscule]]'') and a ''[[lower case]]'' form (also called ''minuscule''). Upper and lower case forms represent the same sound, but serve different functions in writing. Capital letters are most often used at the beginning of a sentence, as the first letter of a proper name, or in inscriptions or headers. They may also serve other functions, such as in the [[German language]] where all [[noun]]s begin with capital letters.
===Typeface and font===
{{main|Typeface}}
A letter may be printed in a number of different sizes or forms, depending on choice of typeface. A [[typeface]] is a single, stylistically consistent set of forms for letters (or glyphs). A particular typeface may alter standard forms of characters, may present them with different optical weight, or may angle or embellish their forms. A [[typeface|font]] is more specific than a typeface, since it specifies the size of the letters as well as the form.
==See also==
*[[Abecedarium]]
*[[Alphabet]]
*[[Alphabets derived from the Latin]]
*[[Artificial script]]
*[[Character (computing)]]
*[[Collation]]
*[[Diacritic]]
*[[Digraph (orthography)]]
*[[Glyph]]
*[[Grapheme]]
*[[Greek letters used in mathematics]]
*[[History of the alphabet]]
*[[Letterform]]
*[[Ligature (typography)|Ligature]]
*[[Orthography]]
*[[Roman letters used in mathematics]]
*[[Typeface]]
*[[Unicode]]
==References==
* [[Peter T. Daniels|Daniels, Peter T.]], and William Bright, eds. 1996. The World's Writing Systems. ISBN 0-19-507993-0.
* [[Barry B. Powell|Powell, Barry B.]]. 1991. Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet. ISBN-13: 9780521589079 | ISBN-10: 052158907X.
==External links==
*[http://www.unicode.org/charts/ Unicode Code Charts]
*[http://www.lettercount.com/ LetterCount.com] Count the number of letters in a document
[[Category:Alphabetic writing systems]]
[[Category:Typography]]
[[als:Buchstabe]]
[[ar:حرف]]
[[ast:Lletra]]
[[az:Hərf]]
[[be-x-old:Літара]]
[[br:Lizherenn]]
[[bg:Буква]]
[[ca:Lletra (grafia)]]
[[cv:Саспалли]]
[[cs:Písmeno]]
[[cy:Llythyren]]
[[da:Bogstav]]
[[de:Buchstabe]]
[[et:Täht (kiri)]]
[[es:Letra]]
[[eo:Litero]]
[[fr:Lettre (typographie)]]
[[gl:Letra]]
[[ko:자모]]
[[hr:Slovo]]
[[os:Дамгъæ]]
[[is:Bókstafur]]
[[it:Lettera (alfabeto)]]
[[he:אות]]
[[ka:ასო (ნიშანი)]]
[[sw:Herufi]]
[[ht:Lèt]]
[[la:Littera]]
[[lv:Burts]]
[[lt:Raidė]]
[[jbo:lerfu]]
[[hu:Betű]]
[[mk:Буква]]
[[ml:അക്ഷരം]]
[[mr:अक्षर]]
[[nl:Letter]]
[[no:Bokstav]]
[[uz:Harf]]
[[nds:Bookstaav]]
[[pl:Litera]]
[[pt:Letra]]
[[crh:Arif]]
[[ksh:Boochshtaave (Allfabet)]]
[[ru:Буква]]
[[sq:Shkronja]]
[[scn:Littra (signu gràficu)]]
[[simple:Letter]]
[[sk:Písmeno]]
[[sl:Črka]]
[[sr:Слово]]
[[fi:Kirjain]]
[[sv:Bokstav]]
[[kab:Asekkil]]
[[tr:Harf]]
[[uk:Літера]]
[[yi:אות]]
[[zh:字母]]