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posted by on Wednesday January 18 2017, @08:56AM   Printer-friendly
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!


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 19 2017, @03:48AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 19 2017, @03:48AM (#455877)

    Makes sense to me that w is pronounced as a doubled u.