Editing 2794: Alphabet Notes
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This comic is Randall's "design notes" for the {{w|English alphabet}}. The comic lists the A | + | {{incomplete|Created by a BAD U&I JOKE. Do NOT rearrange the alphabet too soon. Need more on MN!}} |
+ | This comic is Randall's "design notes" for the {{w|English alphabet}}. The English alphabet is a {{w|Latin-script alphabet}} used to write modern English. The comic lists the A to Z alphabet, in black block letters, from left to right. Forming these supposed design notes are many red annotations: | ||
− | + | #At the top, the vowels are listed. Randall apparently likes how these are spaced. He places a question mark near Y, as it sometimes functions as a vowel but sometimes functions as a consonant as well. Plus he seems to think the last five letters (maybe even six) of the alphabet should have been left out, see below. | |
+ | #"A" is described favorably as the start. | ||
+ | #Randall considers the five early consonants B, C, D, F, and G to be acceptable but nothing special, with the exception of D which he considers solid. It's not clear if his judgement is based on the appearances of the glyphs, or the sounds that they correspond to. In speech, a {{w|consonant}} is a sound that is articulated by obstructing the vocal tract, producing a percussive kind of effect. In English phonology, D is the {{w|voiced alveolar plosive}}. | ||
+ | #The words "hi" and "no", which both appear uninterrupted when the letters of the English alphabet are listed from A-Z, are highlighted. | ||
+ | #That "ij" (in lowercase) may be considered friends because they both have dots in the lowercase version. No other characters are given lowercase treatment, however, to ''prove'' that these two are the only (common versions of) glyphs which cannot be written with a single press of the pen against the page.<br />The separate dots and main strokes could also be interpreted as the heads and torsos of two reductionist character drawings.<br />The symbols "i" and "j" are the respective mathematical and electrical-engineering notations of the {{w|Imaginary unit|square root of -1}}, and so may be considered both professionally and personally in a close relationship, as well as neighbours.<br />There is also a {{w|Digraph (orthography)|digraph}}, or unconnected {{w|Ligature (writing)#Dutch IJ|ligature}}, of "ij" (or "IJ", as a leading capital) used as a letter in its own right (considered distinct from either "i" or "j") in the Netherlands. It should be noted that "J" {{w|J#History|appeared sometime around the Middle Ages}} as a variant of "I", explaining why they look similar and are located together in the alphabet. | ||
+ | #"JK" is an abbreviation/initialism for "just kidding", similar to "LOL" for "laughing out loud". | ||
+ | # In the standard "{{w|Alphabet song|alphabet song}}" for the US (sung to the tune of the nursery rhyme "{{w|Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star}}"), most letters occur upon the beat of an easy and sedate tempo. However, to make it both scan ''and'' rhyme, the letters L to P are run through at double the tempo. This provides a welcome departure from the rhythm that has been slow and uniform up to that point, and the rapidity of the letters almost makes them feel like a strange word ("elemenopee") rather than a sequence of alphabetic letters. The letter sounds also require the involvement of several different parts of the mouth, including a rapid tongue movement, which may feel more fun to do than the preceding parts. | ||
+ | #Randall finds it weird that the dividing line between the two halves of the alphabet would go between M and N. It's not clear what exactly he thinks is weird about this. M and N are similar-looking letters, both consisting of a zigzag sequence of lines. Possibly Randall is commenting on the fortuitous coincidence that the sides of M and N are both straight and vertical, providing a natural lane through which to draw a dividing line. He also lists several words that contain MN in sequence, and speculates on the significance of this rare digram seemingly only being used for "fancy" words. | ||
+ | #Randall considers the placement of "Q" strange. He may even consider the existence of "Q" strange, perhaps because the sound "Q" denotes in English could be replaced with the digraph "KW".<br />"C" and "X" are also replaceable with single or multiple alternate characters in English. These include "S" or "K" for the former ("accent" could perhaps be re-written as "aksent", but it is unknown what would replace the "C" in words like church.) and "(C)KS" (e.g. "ax(e)" as "aks") or "Z" (regarding "xylophone" or any "xeno-" word). But these, and other orthographic inconsistencies, are not obviously called out by Randall. | ||
+ | #Randall considers "RST" a strong cluster of consonants, possibly because that three-character sequence does occur in some words (eg. BURST, WORST). Both "strong" and "cluster" also include the letters R, S and T. The use of an {{w|R-S-T system|RST code}} is a traditional way of describing the reception quality of radio communications. Also, RST are part of the widely recognized 5 most common consonants in the English language, RSTLN (possibly widely recognized due to the game show {{w|Wheel_of_Fortune_(American_game_show)|Wheel Of Fortune}}, which at one point changed their rules to automatically give them free for the Bonus Round). 3 out of the 5 are listed together in the alphabet. | ||
+ | #Randall is not a fan of the letter "U" for some odd reason, and thinks it is the weirdest of the 5 vowels. This assertion may refer to the fact that "U" has two sounds that are considered to be long: "oo" and "yoo," and which of the two is pronounced may depend on the accent (for example in the word "tune"). | ||
+ | #The letters V, W, X, Y, and Z are "haunted". | ||
+ | #Randall seems to be confused about "VW", it could refer to {{w|Volkswagen}}, or he might wonder why "W" is called "double U" rather than "double V". Or why both are needed. Both "{{w|W#History|W}}" and "{{w|U#History|U}}" are derived from "V", which might explain a lot. | ||
+ | #Randall questions whether "X" is even a letter. It is the Roman numeral for 10, though he does not complain about C, D, I, L, M or V in the same way so he is most likely talking of ''x'' as used in algebraic contexts. Alternatively, he could simply be talking about the appearance of the letter "X". | ||
+ | #The comment that the alphabet may have been better if it had stopped at "T" is likely a reference to the fact that {{w|Phoenician alphabet|the original Phoenician script}}, which is the ancestor of many modern scripts including English, had as its last letter {{w|Taw}}, which the modern letter "T" is derived from. It is still the last letter of the modern Hebrew alphabet, although the Greek alphabet added several letters after it, some of which persist into modern English. Randall seems to believe that the Phoenician script was fine as-is and that the letters U-Z are weird and/or unnecessary. | ||
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− | + | The title text makes a joke about the pick-up line "If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put 'U' and 'I' together.", where the letters "U" and "I" are pronounced like the pronouns "you" and "I". It is such a corny act of flirtation that any recipient of it could easily have a rejection (''or'' a flirty acceptance, if they so wish) ready to respond with in an appropriate vein. As well as reflecting the diagram's noted preference for well-spaced vowels, it might be presumed that anyone (unironically) using the "U and I" line might be left dumbfounded at the rather technical nature of the riposte. This pickup line was also the subject of [[1069: Alphabet]]. The word "ruin" does indeed have 'u' and 'i' together. | |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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:LMNOP: Part that's fun to sing | :LMNOP: Part that's fun to sing | ||
::Weird how the line between "M" and "N" is the halfway mark. | ::Weird how the line between "M" and "N" is the halfway mark. | ||
− | ::They're similar, but "MN" only shows up in fancy words like "mnemonic", "column", "amnesty", and "hymn" | + | ::They're similar, but "MN" only shows up in fancy words like "mnemonic", "column", "amnesty", and "hymn", significance?? |
:NO: No | :NO: No | ||
− | :Q: Why is this ''here'' | + | :Q: Why is this ''here?'' |
:RST: Strong cluster! | :RST: Strong cluster! | ||
:U: Weirdest of the main 5 vowels by far | :U: Weirdest of the main 5 vowels by far | ||
Line 147: | Line 57: | ||
:VW: ?? | :VW: ?? | ||
:X: Not sure this is even a letter. Did you include a number by mistake? | :X: Not sure this is even a letter. Did you include a number by mistake? | ||
− | : | + | ::...Listen. |
::Maybe we should've stopped at "T". | ::Maybe we should've stopped at "T". | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
− | + | <!-- Include any categories below this line. --> | |
[[Category:Language]] | [[Category:Language]] | ||
[[Category:Comics with color]] | [[Category:Comics with color]] | ||
[[Category:Comics with red annotations]] | [[Category:Comics with red annotations]] | ||
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]] <!-- 'ij' --> | [[Category:Comics with lowercase text]] <!-- 'ij' --> |