The letter “J” is my favorite letter of the alphabet, probably because it is the first letter of my first name. However, it was the last letter to be developed and is thus the late bloomer of the 26 letters of the alphabet.
“J” is the tenth letter and seventh consonant in the English alphabet. It was developed from the letter “I” and was placed in the alphabet after it. This happened in the middle ages. The dot over the letters “I” and “J” is called a tittle. That, in itself, is funny. Most letters include the sound they represent and that is true of this letter.
When I was in grammar school, I had a friend named Joseph, nicknamed Joey. He had five brothers and sisters and all their names started with a “J”. There were Janice, Jonathan, Jerome, Justin and Jean. I thought this was jolly good. Being an only child, all the kids in my family had a name starting with a “J” also. When genealogy became the fad in the 60’s, I found out I had a great grandfather named Jay. How neat is that? His name not only started with a “J” but also sounded like the letter.
In the early 80s, I started cross stitching and got interested in antique American samplers. That is when I learned that before the early nineteenth century, there was no letter “J” stitched on them. Needlework was taught in Moravian schools using the German language which did not have an equivalent sound for “J”. They often don’t have the letter “U” either for the same reason. This is a method used to assist in dating undated old needlework.
Interestingly, my least favorite letter is “H”. I say that is interesting because it is the first letter on my maiden name. What annoys me about it is that some people, including my deceased mother-in-law, pronounce it “haitch”. I prefer the pronunciation “aitch” and until recently thought the other pronunciation was incorrect. However, I have learned this pronunciation is common in England with people born after 1982. This pronunciation includes the sound “H” represents.
“K” is the first letter of my married name. I have no knowledge or kind thoughts about it—not kcoolsweet.
As a late bloomer and owner of a middle initial “J” I enjoyed reading this.
As another writer put it “H” is the same, backwards or frontwards. I had an aunt who “haitched” her way through life!
🙂 Thanks.