Evaluation of English Alphabet
Do you know that there is an interesting story behind the evaluation of English alphabet. If you are a student of English literature, you may know this while you come across Old English Period but if you don’t know it already, here it is.
- Well, the English alphabet was first introduced to Britain by the Romans in the 1st century AD. But, at that time it did not have a standardized written from until the Latin alphabet was adapted for Old English in the 7th century.
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The Old English alphabet only consisted of 24 letters (not 26 which we use today) and over the time, the English language was influenced by two other major languages – French and Latin and it continued to evolve which lead to changes in the alphabet.
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In the 16th century, with the addition of the two letters “J” and “U”, the English alphabet was standardized to include the 26 letters. Before then, the letters “I” and “V” were used to represent both the consonant and vowel sounds of “J” and “U”.
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This process of Standardization simplified spelling and made it consistent across different regions, facilitating mass production of printed materials and ease of communication among English-speaking communities globally and here we are at the present time using this letters to create words and sentences to express our thoughts and feelings.
So, now let’s return to English alphabet and word.
What is an Alphabet and What is English Alphabet?
Definition: An Alphabet which is the basic of any language is a standard set of letters, used to write one or more languages.
English Alphabet- Upper Case and Lower Case
We must know that the 26 (Twenty Six) letters of English Alphabet are basically of two types.
Upper Case in English Alphabet
Let’s first learn about upper case letters in English alphabet. Let me tell you if you know about capital letters, you already know what is upper case in English alphabet.
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Uppercase letters are also known as capital letters.
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These are the larger versions of the standard letters in the English alphabet.
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Generally, these letters are used at the beginning of sentences, proper nouns (such as names of people, places, or organizations), titles, and headings. Example- Sachin Tendulkar, Mumbai etc.
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In some cases, these letters are used for emphasis or to indicate a change in tone or voice. Example– “I can’t believe that you didn’t tell me about the party. You promised that we would go TOGETHER.”
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In some cases, uppercase letters may be used within words, such as in the case of acronyms or for stylistic purposes in creative writing. Example– “NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration.” Here, NASA is an acronym for the organization’s full name. The acronym is written in all uppercase letters to distinguish it from the surrounding text and make it stand out.
| 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 in English Alphabet
Now, let’s learn about lower case letters in English alphabet
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Lowercase letters are known as small letters.
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These are the standard letters in the English alphabet that are smaller in contrast to the uppercase letters.
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These letters are used (for most of the text) in written language such as in sentences, paragraphs, and body text.
| 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 | ||
Upper Case And Lower Case Together in a Chart
So, we have learnt that we use a capital letter to start a sentence and we continue the sentence with the help of the small letters. So, we need to know both the two sets of letters.
Vowel, Consonant and Semi vowel
As we are talking about English alphabet, its upper case letters and lower case letters, we must also know about English vowels, consonants and semi vowels as these are the integral parts of English alphabet.
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Among the above Twenty Six letters, A(a), E(e), I(i), O(o), and U(u)- these 5 (Five) are called vowels.
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And the rest 21 (Twenty one) letters are called consonants.
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And there are two special letters – W(w) and Y(y). These two letters, though generally treated as consonants, some time in some places they act as vowel and that is why these two letters are called semi vowels.
Words with Vowels & Semi vowels
We must know that there is strong bond between a word and a vowel. Yes, a word can not be completed without a vowel , at least one. If there is not a vowel in a word , there must have to be a semi vowel. The below image with its associated explanation will clear the topic.
Explanation-Words with Vowels (Ref. Left Column)
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Here we can see ,there are two columns in the above table. The left column consists of the words where regular vowels (a,e,i,o and u) are used. There is at least one or more regular vowels in the words in left column.
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For example, if we take the very first word of the left column i.e ‘Man’ , here ‘a’ is used and it is one of the regular vowels. In case of the word, ‘Laptop’, here two vowels- ‘a’ and ‘o’ are used.
Explanation-Words with Semi Vowels (Ref. Right Column)
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The words in the right column use semi vowels.
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To elaborate, ‘Y’ is used in the very first word i.e ‘Cry’ and ‘W’ is used in the very last word i.e ‘How’.
English Grammar: Word And Not a Word
So, we have learnt about English alphabet in detail and it is time to learn about word in English grammar.
What is a Word?
What is Not a Word
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The letters should be placed side by side.
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And the side by side placed letters should create a complete meaning or sense.
Understanding Word and Not a Word Side by Side
I hope you have already understood what can can be called a word and what not. But, still if there is a little confusion regarding this, the following image with its associated explanation point to point (just below the image) will certainly clear the confusion.
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So,both in the two columns of the above table there are some sets of letters. In the left column, in each set, the letters are placed side by side and in each set they produce a complete meaning or sense together and that is why each set of letters is a word.
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If we take the first set of letters from the left column for example, we can see that there the five letters – ‘C’, ‘h’, ‘a’, ‘i’ and ‘r’ and these five letters are placed side by side and these letters together create a complete meaning or sense and so ‘Chair’ is a word.
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Similarly the other sets of letters in the left column are also words.
Explanation- Why Not a Word (Ref. Right Column)
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But, the sets of the letters in the right column fail to produce a complete meaning or sense and so these set of letters can’t be called words.
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As for example, if we take take the first set of letters in the right column , we can see that the side by side placed letters fail to create a complete meaning and so ‘Ircah’ (the letters that are used in the word ‘Chair’) is not a word.
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In a similar way, the other sets of letters in the right columns are also not words.
Single Lettered Word
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A. (signifies a number)
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I. (signifies a person/ Personal pronoun)
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O. (signifies an expression)
Multi Lettered Word
Definition: As the headline suggest when more than one letters are used side by side to make a complete sense, it is called a multi lettered word
Example: Man, Fan, Van, Bus etc.
A Bengali YouTube Video on English Alphabet and Word
Quiz: English Alphabet and Word
Hope you have enjoyed this article. Now, this is time to test your learning. I have designed a QUIZ on this topic and I highly recommend you to go through the questions and test yourself whether you can PASS or not.
If you know and understand Bengali, my recommendation is to watch the YouTube Video first and then attempt the QUIZ.
FAQ: English Alphabet And Word
Below are some Frequently Asked Questions with the answers to the point to boost your learning on the above topic.. Hope you will like these too.
Q 1. Who introduced the English alphabet?
Ans. The English alphabet was first introduced to Britain by the Romans in the 1st century AD.
Q 2. Which two letters were added later into English alphabet?
Ans. The Old English alphabet only consisted of 24 letters. In the 16th century, with the addition of the two letters “J” and “U”, the English alphabet was standardized to include the 26 letters.
Q 3. How many types of letters are there in English alphabet?
Ans. There are mainly two types of letters in English alphabet. They are- Upper Case or Capital Letters and Lower Case or Small Letters. Each type consists of 26 letters.
Q 4. How many semi vowels are there in English Alphabet
Ans. There are two semi vowels in English alphabet and they are- W(w) and Y(y).
Q 5. What is single lettered word?
Ans. When a single letter is capable enough to make a complete sense, it is called single lettered word. There are there letters that fall into this category. They are- A, I and O.
Well explained.Thanks
Thank you for sharing your view here.
Wonderful explanation.
I am glad that you liked it.
Nice simple easy to read blog. Just loved it ❤️
Thank you Debanjan. I am glad that you found it useful.