It seems strange to imagine the English alphabet as having anything less than the usual 26 letters. Centuries ago, however, spelling was far more fluid than it is today, and certain letters were used to represent an even wider range of sounds.
Many people assume that the most recent letter added to the alphabet was the 26th and last letter, "Z." However, it was actually the letter "J" that earned its place in the alphabet after all the others. Romance languages like Italian and French adopted "J" first, thanks to Italian grammarian Gian Giorgio Trissino's 1524 essay distinguishing "I" and "J." Previously, the two letters had been used interchangeably and were essentially considered variations of a single letter.The modern "J" wasn't yet in use during the life of William Shakespeare. Therefore, first edition copies of Romeo and Juliet were originally titled Romeo and Iuliet. The “J” as we know it finally made its way into the English alphabet in the early 17th century and was notably used as a distinct letter in the King James Bible.
By 1633, English grammarians were writing about the differences between "I" and "J," paving the way for a more specific use of the letter “J” in texts and eventually its formal inclusion in the English alphabet.
Beyond the ABCs:
- The English alphabet used to contain six additional letters that were eventually dropped. Old English included the letters Thorn (þ), Eth (ð), Wynn (ƿ), Yogh (ȝ), Ash (æ), and Ethel (œ), which are now obsolete.
- In the Wingdings font by Microsoft, the letter "J" is rendered as a smiley face.
- The letter most commonly used in English is “E.” The least used letter is “Z.”
