What is English alphabet?
The modern '''English alphabet''' is a [[Latin alphabet]] of 26 [[letter]]s (each having an uppercase and a lowercase form), of which five<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 2010|title=Twinkl|url=https://www.twinkl.jp/teaching-wiki/alphabet|access-date=6 June 2024}}</ref> are vowels ([[a]], [[e]], [[i]], [[o]], and [[u]]) and 21 are consonants – exactly the same letters that are found in the [[ISO basic Latin alphabet]]: The exact shape of printed letters changes depending on the [[typeface]] (and [[font]]). The shape of [[Handwriting|handwritten]] letters can be very different from the standard printed form (and between individuals), especially when written in [[cursive]] style. See the individual letter articles for information about letter shapes and origins (follow the links on any of the uppercase letters above). Written English uses 18<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.phonicsontheweb.com/digraphs.php|title=Digraphs (Phonics on the Web)|website=www.phonicsontheweb.com|access-date=2016-04-07|archive-date=2016-04-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413162011/http://www.phonicsontheweb.com/digraphs.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] (strings of two letters to represent just one sound), such as ''ch, sh, th, ph, wh,'' etc., but they are not considered separate letters of the alphabet. Some traditions also call two [[Ligature (typography)|ligatures]], ''æ'' and ''œ'', and the [[ampersand]] (&) part of the alphabet. {{Listen|filename=Alphabet.oga|title=English alphabet A to Z|description=(Listen to a [[Received Pronunciation]] [[British English]] speaker recite the English alphabet)|A - Ae=A}} == History == === Old English === The [[English language]] was first written in [[Futhorc|Anglo-Saxon futhorc]] runes, used since the 5th century. This alphabet was brought to what is now England, along with [[Old English]] itself, the earliest form of the language, by [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] settlers. Very few examples of this form of written Old English have survived, with most of the