By Kavita Mistry
by Cathryn Conroy (Dublin, Ohio): Talk about getting into the weeds! If you’re passionate about words, then you’re probably interested in letters, and if you’re interested in letters, then you may also be interested in their history. This book isn’t for everyone, but I found it fascinating.
Prodigiously researched and written by David Sacks, this is the detailed and comprehensive—okay, meticulous—history of each of our 26 letters. Read this book to find out the origin of each letter and how each one got its shape and sound. And then there are the specific fun facts to know and tell: Why is X the unknown? Where did the Irish rock band U2 get its name? Which two letters were the last to be included in the alphabet? (Spoiler alert: The answer is J and V.)
Each chapter is a little biography of the letter, and Sacks offers each letter’s chief significance for modern readers—such as A meaning quality and B always being second best. Our alphabet is one of those spectacularly successful inventions. Says Sacks, “Judged on longevity and extent of modern daily use, it compares with the wheel.” Why? Like the wheel it transformed the ancient world, it is still with us, and it has never been superseded.
Most importantly, the alphabet gave power to all the people, allowing them to learn how to read and write—and that is still true today.
Our alphabet has a long and storied history beginning in Egypt around 2000 BCE, but even greater credit goes to the Phoenicians in 1000 BCE where about 19 of our letters can be traced directly to Phoenician counterparts. We also have to give thanks to the Greeks, the Etruscans, and the Romans. And in 1066 when the medieval French Normans invaded and conquered England, they brought French vocabulary and spelling rules to England, too.
Some fun facts (read the book for many more!): • The word “alphabet” combines the first two Greek letters’ names: alpha and beta.
• All our original letters began as pictures. A was pictured as an ox. The A’s legs were horns pointing upward some 3,000 years ago. A is regarded as the most primitive word sound and is typically the first sound said by a baby.
• Among the 26 letters, S ranks about eighth in frequency of use in printed English, but it is No. 1 as an initial letter. That is, more of our words start with the letter S than any other.
• Fully one third of all English words begin with one of three letters: S, C, or P.
• O is the only letter whose name creates its shape on the speaker’s lips.
• The letter with the most calming effect is L. Think of the feeling inspired by “lull,” “lullaby,” “lollipop,” and “la-la-land.”
• The letter T is the second most-often-used letter in print after E. But the “T” section of a dictionary isn’t especially thick because T occurs more often at the middle or end of words than as the first letter.
Do take time to smile at the chapter titles—one for each letter. They are quite amusing! Some include: “C of Troubles,” “F is For—Forget It,” “T Party,” and “Living with Your X.”
While the book is heavy on history—sometimes very, very heavy and even a bit cumbersome—author David Sacks treats the subject with humor. My eyes might glaze over at times, but then I am suddenly laughing out loud.