How many letters in the English alphabet

How to start learning any language? Of course, with the letters of its components, that is, with the alphabet. That’s letters and sounds are the foundation by which we learn a foreign language, both written and oral. Think about it, and you know full alphabet of their mother tongue? You can tell how much of it consists of letters? I am sure that, despite the fact that we speak the native language, and sometimes we find it difficult to name all the letters in the correct order, and forget how many of them as a whole.

Such is the forgetfulness regarding mother tongue, does not cause us any inconvenience. But with the English, the situation is somewhat more complicated. The fact that the person who is studying, you must be aware of how many letters in the English alphabet, the order in which they are located and how sound their reading alphabet. You may ask — why? The answer to this question is not convoluted: not to be trapped in the future.

First, the knowledge of how many letters in the English alphabet, and what they will help you navigate the bank in a situation where you are asked to name this or that letter represented by the number. By the way, say the letters must also be competent in alphabetical sound. Secondly, foreigners are often in the case of misunderstanding refer to the need to provide so-called «Spelling» word, that is asking spell it (from the English verb to spell). Well, and thirdly, the alphabet — is the cornerstone of the letters — the building blocks that make up our English-language speech, so do not know these basics just is not recommended.

How many letters in the English alphabet today?

If we turn to the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia, we find that writing in English was born in about the fifth century AD, having basically Anglo-Saxon runes. Come Christian missionaries two centuries later, it marked the replacement rune letters. There is a history of the English alphabet, even the exact date of the «ancestor» of the modern alphabet. If you believe this source, in 1011 the monk Bertfert used in the letter of 23 letters (without J, U, W), the four letters on the basis of the runes — Thorne, vuno, youg, CPP — and ligature AE. But in the XVI century the letters J, U (derived from the I, V), the letter became a separate ligature W.

If you are interested in the history of the emergence of the English alphabet, and if your level of English can read English literature, I would recommend the book «Language Visible: Unraveling the mystery of the alphabet from A to Z», authored by David Sacks. This study is an attempt to examine the letters of the English alphabet. How did they come from? What is the «letter»? What is the «alphabet»? Why unknown letter X? What is the story about the letter? What are the letters of the English alphabet are the latest and why? Which animal was originally symbolized by the letter A? Answers to these and many other interesting items you can find in this book (which is available for download on the Internet — englishtips.org).

So how many letters in the English alphabet? Their 26: 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. Moreover, the most used is the letter E, and the least used — Z. As the sound all the letters of the alphabet can be heard online audio-class.ru. After reading this article, you will not only be able to say how many letters in the English alphabet, but also mention about the history of its occurrence.

 

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