Why Q Needs U
02 October 2025Imprint: Blink Publishing
Synopsis
'A wonderful achievement! A breathtaking adventure through the alphabet - each letter a hero with a remarkable story to tell. An absolutely delightful read, filled with jewels of lightly worn scholarship and dazzling insight. I just couldn't recommend it more highly.' STEPHEN FRY
Every letter you're reading right now has a fascinating story to tell, having been on a long linguistic, historical, political and social journey.
The English alphabet is a tool we've inherited down the centuries from ancient creators around the world. The alphabet hasn't always had its present form, but rather has undergone all sorts of changes and evolutions to suit the needs of the time. Did you know that five English letters come from a single graphic grandparent? Or that we may know the specific person who invented the letter G? Do you know why Z is the sixth letter for the Greeks, yet the last for us? Or why Q needs to be followed by U?
Linguistic expert Danny Bate takes readers on a fascinating odyssey through the English alphabet, not just to share fun facts but to reveal the alphabet's hidden mechanisms and inspire a newfound sense of wonder in this ancient tool. He will not only leave readers amazed by the letters they use every day but equipped to spot connections in languages across the world. He also aims to explain and defend the peculiar way English today uses these ancient symbols. Why does a silent final E turn hop into hope? Why are the Cs in circus pronounced differently? And why is there an L in salmon and a K in know?
Each chapter is a self-contained adventure into history, etymology, politics and more, but will also contribute to a general appreciation for how our alphabet developed, how it has changed and how it fits into a wider world of writing.
Every letter you're reading right now has a fascinating story to tell, having been on a long linguistic, historical, political and social journey.
The English alphabet is a tool we've inherited down the centuries from ancient creators around the world. The alphabet hasn't always had its present form, but rather has undergone all sorts of changes and evolutions to suit the needs of the time. Did you know that five English letters come from a single graphic grandparent? Or that we may know the specific person who invented the letter G? Do you know why Z is the sixth letter for the Greeks, yet the last for us? Or why Q needs to be followed by U?
Linguistic expert Danny Bate takes readers on a fascinating odyssey through the English alphabet, not just to share fun facts but to reveal the alphabet's hidden mechanisms and inspire a newfound sense of wonder in this ancient tool. He will not only leave readers amazed by the letters they use every day but equipped to spot connections in languages across the world. He also aims to explain and defend the peculiar way English today uses these ancient symbols. Why does a silent final E turn hop into hope? Why are the Cs in circus pronounced differently? And why is there an L in salmon and a K in know?
Each chapter is a self-contained adventure into history, etymology, politics and more, but will also contribute to a general appreciation for how our alphabet developed, how it has changed and how it fits into a wider world of writing.
Details
02 October 2025336 pages
9781785307430Imprint: Blink Publishing
Reviews
A wonderful achievement! A breathtaking adventure through the alphabet - each letter a hero with a remarkable story to tell. An absolutely delightful read, filled with jewels of lightly worn scholarship and dazzling insight. I just couldn't recommend it more highly.Stephen Fry
Why Q Needs U is a tremendously informative and entertaining biography of the letters of the alphabet that reveals surprising stories, makes astonishing connections and unveils the very roots of the language we speak.Dr Francis Young, historian and author of 'Pagans in the Early Modern Baltic'
The alphabet is a journey through time, and Danny Bate is a charming and erudite tour guide. If you read only one book about the alphabet I can enthusiastically recommend this one.Lauren Gawne, host of Lingthusiasm and Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at La Trobe University
Why Q needs U ably answers that question and many more about why our alphabet looks the way it does. Language enthusiasts will delight in spelling out the history of one letter per day.Gretchen McCulloch, author of Because Internet and host of Lingthusiasm