Any language in this world that we talk or write comprises a set of letters. These letters are combined in a fixed way to form words. We form sentences with these words that are used in our daily lives for the purpose of communication.
A few languages have their letters based on the sounds. But, languages like English are script-based with each letter forming a particular shape. These letters when arranged in a fixed order are called Alphabet.
Letters in an alphabet
There are 26 letters in the commonly used English alphabet known as the Standard Alphabet. This is a widely used and accepted alphabet that we use for all official communication today. The English Alphabet comes from the Latin script, which is the main set of letters shared by different alphabets that come from the classical Latin alphabet.
Standard English Alphabet
|
S.No. |
Capital Letter |
Small Letter |
Pronunciation |
|
1 |
A |
a |
a |
|
2 |
B |
b |
bee |
|
3 |
C |
c |
cee |
|
4 |
D |
d |
dee |
|
5 |
E |
e |
e |
|
6 |
F |
f |
ef |
|
7 |
G |
g |
gee |
|
8 |
H |
h |
(h)aitch |
|
9 |
I |
i |
i |
|
10 |
J |
j |
jay |
|
11 |
K |
k |
kay |
|
12 |
L |
l |
el |
|
13 |
M |
m |
em |
|
14 |
N |
n |
en |
|
15 |
O |
o |
o |
|
16 |
P |
p |
pee |
|
17 |
Q |
q |
cue |
|
18 |
R |
r |
ar |
|
19 |
S |
s |
ess |
|
20 |
T |
t |
tee |
|
21 |
U |
u |
u |
|
22 |
V |
v |
vee |
|
23 |
W |
w |
double-u |
|
24 |
X |
x |
ex |
|
25 |
Y |
y |
wy |
|
26 |
Z |
z |
zed |
History of English alphabets
Originally, the Old English alphabet had 29 letters. They were A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Y, Z, &, ⁊, Ƿ, Þ, Ð, and Æ.
The modern-day English letters J, U and W were added to the set in the 16th century. Until 1835 the ampersand (&) was also a part of the English alphabet along with the 26 letters that we know today. The Old English letters such as the long S (ſ), Eth (Ð and ð), Thorn (þ), Wynn (ƿ) and Ash (ᚫ; later written as Æ and æ) are not used anymore.
The English Alphabet is divided into 2 parts namely Vowels and Consonants.
Vowels are pronounced without blockage of airflow in the mouth. These letters include A, E, I, O, and U.
Consonants are pronounced by stopping the airflow in the mouth. These include 21 letters B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, and Z. English includes digraphs like ch, ci, ck, gh, ng, ph, qu, rh, sc, sh, th, ti, wh, wr, zh. These are not separate letters of the alphabet.
Do you know?
A pangram is a sentence that includes every letter of the alphabet at least once.
For example –
- Five or six big jet planes zoomed quickly by the tower.
- The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
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The school emphasizes learning through play and offers a variety of activities to help children recognize their talents and build confidence. We offer developmentally age-appropriate activities to enhance children’s self-esteem and independence.
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