2794: Alphabet Notes

2023-06-26T23:46:13Z

Epiglottalaxolotl: The alphabet does in fact stop at T in Phoenician and Hebrew! Also added a link to 1069

{{comic
| number = 2794
| date = June 26, 2023
| title = Alphabet Notes
| image = alphabet notes.png
| titletext = Listen, you're very cute, but if you rearrange the alphabet to put U and I together it will RUIN the spacing!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BAD U&I JOKE. Do NOT rearrange the alphabet too soon.}}
This comic is a joke about the {{w|English alphabet}}, a {{w|Latin-script alphabet}} used to write modern English. It contains several annotations, denoted in red:

#At the top, the vowels are listed. Randall apparently likes how these are spaced. He proposes including "Y" as an honorary vowel, as it often fulfills the same function in words, though it is usually not considered as such in English orthography.
#"A" is described favorably as the start.
#Randall considers the early consonants other than "D" to be ok, but rather weak.
#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) are considered friends might relate to the {{w|IJ (digraph)|Dutch digraph}} or else just the appearance that somewhat resembles two people in a close proximity (at least one figurative limb crossing over to hug or caress the other).
#"Jk" is an abbreviation for "Just kidding" originating from instant messaging, as is "LOL" (for "laughing out loud").
#In the standard "alphabet song" for the US (to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star), most letters occur upon the beat of an easy and sedate tempo. But to scan ''and'' rhyme, the letters L-O are run through at double the tempo, with perhaps P best considered to cross two of the quick beats that end this musical phrase.
#Randall considers the placement of "Q" strange.
#Randall seems to be confused about "VW", it could refer to Volkswagen, or he might wonder why "W" is called "double U" rather than "double V".
#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 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.

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]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[A list of the letters of the alphabet, from A to Z, with red annotations above and below the letters]
:ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

A E I O U Y 
|---|---|-----|-----|---? 
:Love the spacing between vowels!

:A: Strong start!
:BCD, FG: Decent consonants but no real heavy hitters here in the first third ("D" is solid, at least)
:HI: Hi!
::ij: The dotted letters are friends!
:JK: Jk (lol)
:LMNOP: Part that's fun to sing
::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", significance??
:NO: No
:Q: Why is this ''here?''
:RST: Strong cluster!
:U: Weirdest of the main 5 vowels by far
:VWXYZ: Haunted letters (keep out!!)
:VW: ??
:X: Not sure this is even a letter. Did you include a number by mistake?
::...Listen.
::Maybe we should've stopped at "T".

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Design notes on the alphabet

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with red corrections]]

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2794: Alphabet Notes