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from the æ-þƿ-is-the-name-of-the-spy-in-my-novel dept.
Along quaint New England streets, you'll probably spot a sign or two declaring itself "Ye Olde Tavern" or "Ye Old Soda Shoppe." But before you adopt a British accent and order a pint of ale inside, there's a bit of history you should know.
Phrases like ye olde are actually just some of the late 19th century's first marketing ploys, meant to evoke a sentimental connection to older times. And ye has its own complicated story—based in the history of the alphabet.
English has always been a living language, changing and evolving with use. But before our modern alphabet was established, the language used many more characters we've since removed from our 26-letter lineup.
The six letters described in the article are: ð, þ, ƿ, ȝ, æ, and œ. Orthographic history is fun!
(Score: 2) by AndyTheAbsurd on Wednesday January 18 2017, @03:39PM
The six letters described in the article are: edh, thorn, wynn, yogh, aesc, and the oe ligature (which doesn't seem to have a name that I can find, but the linked article isn't loading for me). Spelling things out is hard, though.
Please note my username before responding. You may have been trolled.
(Score: 1) by charon on Wednesday January 18 2017, @06:46PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 18 2017, @06:47PM
Arthur T Knackerbracket is a bot.
The "submissions" from that source are 100 percent cut-and-paste "efforts".
Clicking on the Original Submission, [soylentnews.org] it is revealed that the oe ligature is called ethel.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Wednesday January 18 2017, @07:43PM
Edh, thorn, and yogh correspond to the Welsh letters dd, th, and ch. These are digraphs (needing two characters) but are regarded as letters in their own right. I'm not aware if these (and the other digraphs) ever had “monograph” letters in pre-printing press days.