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Alphabet Letter

Learning The Alphabet And Language Of Spain

The Spanish alphabet only has three more letters than the English alphabet, ch (che), ll (elle) and n (ene). All three letters simply follow the letter from the English alphabet which starts with the same or similar letter. The Spanish alphabet is as follows: a,b,c,ch,d,e,f,g,h,I,j,k,l,ll,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z.

However, there is some controversy over the letters "w" and "k" due to their similar language origin. No Spanish words contain the letters "w" and "k" unless added through translation. Also, the letter "rr" is used in some versions of the Spanish alphabet when the "r" is rolled.

A Spanish dictionary may add to the confusion regarding the inclusion or exclusion of certain letters. For example, older dictionaries may list all words containing "ch" after all words beginning with "c" while new versions list the "ch" words in alphabetical order as with the English language. On the contrary, this is opposite when referring to the letter "n." This change occurred in 1994.

To add more confusion, some letters may not be part of the official alphabet but are created by adding accents to the letters. For example, adding accents to the vowels o, e or u alter their pronunciation and, consequently, their meaning. These accented vowels are not included in the alphabet separately. Though other languages may add these accented vowels separately, when learning the Spanish language you must simply remember the variants of these vowels when accented.

If you speak English, you already know some Spanish words since these languages are both based on the Romance language. Though the spelling may be different, the pronunciation is almost identical with only the accent differing the words. For example, the word "baby" in English is pronounced similar to the Spanish word "bebe." As you see, though, the spellings are different.

Once you have a good grasp on the Spanish alphabet, you will be ready to begin learning the language for your next trip. The residents of Spain welcome travelers and will be flattered at your attempts to communicate with them in their language. Also take some time to learn about the Spanish culture. This will make your trip even more enjoyable. You will find, though, that in the larger more tourism-based areas, everyone also speaks English. But, do not let that discourage you from improving your Spanish speaking skills. Keep practicing and be prepare for your next trip to Spain!

About the Author

Peter J. Wilson very often writes detailed reports on areas relating to Spain and spanish culture. His comments on
spanish alphabet
can be found on his website .

Lets Start Smart Alphabet and Letter Sounds ABCDE Song

Creating A Gothic Alphabet

Historically, the ‘Gothic' alphabet refers to a series of scripts used to write texts in Europe between the 12th and 15th centuries, roughly speaking. These scripts varied in quality, shape and style but they also shared definite characteristics which we still look for in Gothic alphabets today.

If you want to design your own instantly-recognizable Gothic alphabet, here is what to aim for:

1.            Overall, a dense, compressed, slightly prickly appearance with little space between letters.

2.            Strong contrast between thick and thin strokes.

3.            Very few round shapes in the body of the text – most letters based on a rectangle with sharply defined, pointy corners or corners cut off to form a diagonal.

4.            Some kind of finial (decorative blob or stop) on any free ends of strokes.

5.            Elaborately overdone capital letters.

Typically, Gothic letters such as ‘a', ‘c', ‘x' etc stand around 4.5 nib-widths high. (If the width of the nib used to write the script is 1mm, those letters would stand 4.5mm high; if the nib were 2mm, each letter would have to be 9mm high to get the right contrast and proportions.) Longer letters above the line such as ‘b' and ‘l' measure another 2.5 nib-widths, and letters below the line such as ‘g' and ‘y' measure another 2 nib-widths.

If you want to write Gothic using calligraphy nibs, or to see an example of a Gothic alphabet, you might find it useful to refer to a tutorial site.

However, you do not have to have a calligraphy pen to create a Gothic alphabet. It is possible to design one using crayons or even a ballpoint if you draw the ‘thick' lines as long rectangles and the ‘thin' as single lines. Finials can be diamond shapes, spirals, squares, circles, triangles … each shape gives a slightly different ‘feel' to the final alphabet. Using strong, contrasting colors to decorate the initial letters adds to the Gothic feel.

Without pictures it is hard to explain more about creating your own Gothic alphabet. It is helpful to look at examples of the script: try the Gothic alphabet page at the Calligraphy Skills website for more ideas about how to work with the basic historical script to invent your own form of Gothic expression.

About the Author

Harriet Shead is a Gothic alphabets enthusiast who also dabbles in other forms of calligraphy and lettering in between writing on arts, culture, education and healthy living. Her own Gothic alphabet inventions include ‘lollipop Gothic', ‘ballpoint Gothic' and ‘dribble Gothic' but, sadly, none of these are yet available online to download.

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