Have you heard about Ampersand, the forgotten 27th letter of the English alphabet?
We are all aware that the English alphabet contains 26 letters, beginning with A and ending with Z. But did you know that the English alphabet once had 27 letters? It used to come after Z and was even part of the educational system, being taught to British pupils in the nineteenth century.?
The previous letter was recognized as a symbol and removed from the present alphabet system at the turn of the century. The letter ampersand, usually known as '&', was thought to be the alphabet's final letter (27th).
What is the 27th alphabet pronounced as??
The letter was once pronounced as 'and', much as the symbol & stands for today. But saying and after Z conveyed the sense that another letter will follow Z, to avoid this mistake, the symbol & began to be pronounced 'per se,' especially while reciting the alphabet after 'Z.'?
This pronunciation produced the sound of 'and per se and.' Through repeated mispronunciations and sound merging, it evolved into the term 'ampersand.'? ?
How did the symbol originate??
The ampersand symbol originated in Latin, where 'et' denotes 'and.' The character '&' originated as a cursive combination of the letters 'e' and 't', giving rise to its contemporary form.?
This symbol first appeared on a papyrus in 45 AD. Nearly a thousand years later, in 775 AD, it was formally added to the Roman alphabet.?
Who added the symbol to the printing press??
Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press in the 15th century, incorporated the ampersand into the first printing alphabets. By the 18th century, it was being taught in formal education.
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Its introduction in the alphabet was not uniformly standardised. As the twentieth century began, the ampersand began to decline from common use in alphabets.
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