whY

[ezapf]

Why don't we spell why Y?

[SteveD]

Because "Y" is not a word any more than B, C, G, I, J, L, M, N, P, Q, R, T, U and possibly some others.

 

[Bob...]

Because we are not American.

[Octavius]

Because then it would be pronounced 'eye' or 'eey'

[ezapf]

o, i c.

[Quizmonster]

Because words are not just sounds...they have an origin, a meaning, a history and a development. 'Yacht', for example, comes from a Dutch word 'jaghtschip' or 'jachtschip' - where the 'j' is pronounced 'y' and the 'ch' is pronounced as in Johann Sebastian Bach- meaning a ship for hunting/chasing. If we spelt it 'yot' - which is roughly how it sounds - that whole cultural and historical association would be lost.

Under your system, Ezapf, we would be unable to distinguish see/sea, tea/tee, I/eye, pee/pea, cue/queue/Kew and so on. It's bad enough that such nonsense is widespread in text messaging...sorry, txt mssgng.

[CharlieP1973]

For the same reason we don't spell eh?, bee, sea, eye, jay, oh, pea, queue, tea or you with a single letter.

Of course, if you are a teenager and have a mobile phone, the chances are you actually do :-)

[Carlos26]

no dout in a few years it will be common to use these, as laguage continually changes whether we like it or n ot. Consonants are dropped, vowel sounds change and are therefore spelt different.