Editing 2794: Alphabet Notes
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
==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: | ||
− | The | + | #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 <nowiki><B>, <C>, <D>, <F>, and <G></nowiki> to be acceptable but nothing special, with the exception of D which he considers solid. In speech, a {{w|consonant}} is a sound that is articulated by obstructing the vocal tract, producing a percussive kind of effect. It's not clear whether he specifically is referring to their apperance or their usage in what sound they represent. 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. | ||
+ | #Randall notes and appreciates the shared tittle (dot) in the letters <nowiki><i></nowiki> and <j>, calling them "friends". 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 /> In the Netherlands, a {{w|digraph}}, or two letters representing one sound such as <CH> and <SH> in English, is formed from I and J, creating <IJ>; it is considered distinct from either I or J. 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}}" in 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>. Indeed, it is a bit odd that the two letters, which look similar and represent similar sounds, are placed in such a way that they would be split apart when the alphabet is written out on two lines. 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 <nowiki><Q></nowiki> strange, likely because the sound <nowiki><Q></nowiki> denotes in English could be replaced with the sequence <KW>. Our modern English alphabet developed ultimately from the {{w|Phonecian alphabet}}, where <nowiki><Q></nowiki> represented a {{w|voiced uvular plosive}}, a sound similar to 'k' but with the tongue pushed back; while none of the peoples who proceeded to adopt the Phonecian alphanet (the Greeks, the Latins, and the French before finally the English) had this sound in their language, it was kept because at the time Arabic numerals had yet to be adopted and <nowiki><Q></nowiki> was serving double duty to represent the number 90.<br /><C> and <X> are also replaceable with alternate characters in English; <C>, in most cases, can be replaced with <K> or <nowiki><S></nowiki>, leaving only <CH> which, if <C> no longer represents /k/ or /s/, we can drop the <H> since there would not be ambiguity. (Indeed, some languages that adopted the English alphabet, such as {{w|Malay language|Malay}}, does exactly that: words like "democracy" are loaned into Malay as "demokrasi", and "China" is spelt "Cina".) Likewise, <X> can be spelt as <KS>; again, some languages, such as {{w|Esperanto}}, do exactly that, with "excite" spelt "eksciti". But these, and other orthographic inconsistencies, are not called out by Randall. | ||
+ | #Randall considers "RST" a strong cluster of consonants, though again it is unclear whether he refers to their visual design or in the sounds they represent. 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 <nowiki><U></nowiki> for some odd reason, and thinks it is the weirdest of the 5 vowels. | ||
+ | #The letters <nowiki><V>, <W>, <X>, <Y>, and <Z></nowiki> are "haunted". | ||
+ | #Randall seems to be confused about "VW". Possible confusion stems from the initials reminding him of {{w|Volkswagen}}, or that "W" is called "double U" rather than "double V".Both "{{w|W#History|W}}" and "{{w|U#History|U}}" are derived from "V", which might explain a lot. | ||
+ | #Randall questions whether <nowiki><X></nowiki> is even a letter. As Randall is a physcisist, it is likely he is referring to how <nowiki><X></nowiki> is likely encountered more often as a variable representing a number in mathematics and algebra for scientists than as a letter. Alternatively, he could simply be talking about the appearance. | ||
+ | #The comment that the alphabet may have been better if it had stopped at "T" is potential 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. | ||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | 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. | |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
Line 139: | Line 49: | ||
: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". | ||
Line 154: | Line 64: | ||
{{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' --> |