10 Fun Facts About the English Alphabet

You learned your ABCs as a kid—but did you know the alphabet is brimming with drama, intrigue, and historical hijinks? From silent schemers and sound-swapping spies to letters that arrived late to the party, our 26 letters are anything but ordinary. Unlock their hidden stories, and you’ll never look at a word the same way again.

Here’s a peek behind the linguistic curtain:

Believe it or not, “J” wasn’t always its own letter. It began life as a fancy calligraphic version of “I” used by medieval scribes. By the 17th century, it had spun off completely, bringing jazzy joy to words like “jump” and “jester.”

In English, Q is famously clingy—it almost never goes anywhere without U. But in languages like Arabic and Albanian, Q stands proudly solo. Think Quran or qofte (Albanian meatballs). No U required!

It may look like two Vs, but its name gives away its origin story: “double U.” It came from literally stitching two U’s together. Blame medieval scribes—handwriting was wild back then.

Is Y a vowel or a consonant? Yes. It slides into words like a consonant (“yellow”) but often moonlights as a vowel (“myth”). This linguistic shapeshifter has an identity crisis we happily embrace.

That silent K in “knight” or “know”? It wasn’t always silent. People in Chaucer’s day would’ve said the K clearly. Language evolved, and K decided to quiet down—but never left the spelling.

Ever wonder why we write “psychology” or “castle” but don’t say the P or T? These letters stick around for historical cred. They’re linguistic artifacts—silent but significant.

English doesn’t just borrow words; it collects entire sounds. The modern sounds of J, K, W, and C were shaped by Latin, French, German, and Greek. We didn’t invent the alphabet—we gave it a remix.

Long before texting, symbols said it all. “A” was an ox’s head, “B” was a house, and “M” represented water. Over millennia, these pictograms simplified into the letters we use today.

In words like “honor” and “hour,” H is the silent type. But in its youth, it was pronounced. Language trends come and go—H is just going through a quiet phase.