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Comment on Why, in English at least, is the letter W called "double U" and not "double V"?

Nemo@slrpnk.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

well, okay, so:

U, V, and W are all descended from the same letter in Latin. V and W are the consonate versions of that ur-letter and U is the vowel version.

But W is much closer to the remaining vowel sound: We could spell “whiskey” as “uiskey” without really changing the pronuncuation, for example.

So despite the glyph, it’s much closer to a U than a V; it’s the U that saw glyphic differentiation even though it’s V that saw phonic differentiation.

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abbadon420@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
So to put it in plain words:

The English are an illiterate bunch of alcoholics who base their entire language on the way it’s pronounced when you’re in the pub.

While the French are a stuck up bunch of pretend aristocrats who based their entire language on the scripts of the court.

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- BearOfaTime@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  Wow, not really off the mark.
  
  Upper class English spoke French in Shakespeare’s time, seeing the English language as the tongue of the commoners, lower class folk.
  
  Part of what made Shakespeare’s plays different - he brought comedy similar to Moliere’s into English.
  
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- flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  Thank you. That was helpful
  
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nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

“uiskey” That is actually very close to the original Irish words: uisce beatha (ish-kuh ba-ha), meaning “water of life”.

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- ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  Notably ‘uisce’ is just the word for ‘water’, which tracks.
  
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- mineralfellow@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  The Water of Life features in lots of fairy tales. Is that what is being referred to? Is Water of Death another name for an alcohol?
  
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  - nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    
    The Water of Life features in lots of fairy tales. Is that what is being referred to?
    
    Likely. Alcohol, in many cultures had a spiritual/religious characterization. We literally have an ancient Egyptian beer recipe because it was written into a hymn praising Ninkasi, a Sumerian goddess of beer.
    
    Is Water of Death another name for an alcohol?
    
    That’s a good question. It’s Fernet (/s).
    
    I do not actually know that. I would suspect that it would be another substance. Maybe an acid or toxin.
    
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