The letter I
occupies the ninth position in the English alphabet, and is the third vowel. It
is the fifth most common letter in the English language. The vowel I began as a
hieroglyph representing an arm in Ancient Egypt. It was then imported into the
Semitic languages, where it was changed to a /j/ sound, because the Semitic
word for 'arm' began with a /j/ sound. In English, the words 'yellow' or 'yet'
demonstrates how this change has been inherited, with our pronunciation of I.
In English, there are still words with a long pronunciation of I as well, such
as in the words "I", or "kite".
The Ancient Greeks decided to use the Phoenician form of the letter,
which was Yodh and turned it into Iota. In Modern Greek, it was then adapted to
represent the letter J. Over time, the full English alphabet was created and I
and J because two different letters. This was created in the 16th
century.
There are a few ways of writing the letter I. The first is the lower
case version, which is a single vertical line with a dot over the top. This dot
is known as the tittle. There are two versions of the upper case letter. The
most common version is a single vertical line. Because this looks similar to
the number 1, there are times when two horizontal lines at the top and bottom
of the single vertical line.
The I is a letter that is commonly missed out from number plates and
vehicle identification numbers. This is because the letter is commonly confused
with the number 1. There are other letters that are also avoided when it comes
to number plates and other situations like that.
When it is used in some fonts, there are times that the letter I is
mistaken for an L, when in the uppercase. There are also times when it is
confused with a vertical bar. This can make it confusing and is the main reason
why many basic and common fonts have the two horizontal lines at the top and
bottom of the vertical line.
I is a letter that can be used on its own and is when the first
person narrative. This is common in memos, diaries and some fiction novels.
Like most vowels, the I is very common in English words, and is
generously disbursed in the Scrabble tile pouch. Nine I tiles exists, each
yielding 1 point, a typical score for the early vowels.
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