Frazz by Jef Mallett for October 22, 2017

Why is it called a “w” when it clearly looks like a double v?

In Finland no one gets homework. You have to do it all in school instead.

And yes, the name of ‘Z’ was changed to rhyme with ‘C’.

The first rhyme (‘G’ and ‘P’) is only possible by cramming LMNO all together. Refer to Dan Rather’s 1976 SNL skit “The Decabet”

@mddshubby2005

Always go to Oxford dictionary for that type of question:

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/why-is-w-pronounced-double-u

English uses the Latin alphabet of the Romans. However, this had no letter suitable for representing the speech sound /w/ which was used in Old English, though phonetically the sound represented by /v/ was quite close. In the 7th century scribes wrote uu for /w/; later they used the runic symbol known as wynn. European scribes had continued to write uu, and this usage returned to England with the Norman Conquest in 1066. Early printers sometimes used vv for lack of a w in their type. The name double-u recalls the former identity of u and v, which you can also see in a number of words with a related origin, for example flour/flower, guard/ward, or suede/Swede.

Mrs Olson should teach this Three Stooges classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usQem53fDH8

Just a minute, Frazz, the i rhymes with i.

In French, w is indeed pronounced double v as “double vay”.

@garcoa: two different pronunciations of the same letter: i sounded as in eye and i as sounded in it. No rhyming sounds there, only look-a-likes.

And why DO b,c,d,e,g,p,t,v, and z all rhyme? As well as a, j, and k?

Wrong, Frazz. “I” rhymes with itself.

And: Why does Wyoming start with a “Y” ?

For the OCD among us I present the alphabet in alphabetical order:

H R B C D W E F A X L M N S I G J K O P Q T V Y U Z

I also point out that most American English speakers are unaware of the difference between the 2 flavors of “th” (voiced and unvoiced), as displayed in the phrase “that thing” (/ðæt/ /θɪŋ/).

This all has me waiting for Jeopardy!

The “w” is instrumental in naming a familiar creature: https://i.imgur.com/njan1Io.jpg

The alphabet was in a completely different order before Mozart wrote that tune.

I love Frazz!