• Fizz@lemmy.nz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      4 months ago

      I don’t get why w is called double u when it’s clearly a double v

      • __dev@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        4 months ago

        It’s a long story. In short: In Latin script u and v were the same letter “u” but had two pronunciations depending on whether it was being used as a vowel or consonant. But when adapting the alphabet to Germanic languages (including Old English) the same two sounds were from two different letters, so they put two "u"s together to make double u: vv.

        The full story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg2j7mZ9-2Y