The ‘Goth letters’: why the alphabet goes off the rails after T

1125. In this bonus segment, we look at the fascinating history of the "new letters" of the alphabet—V, W, X, Y, and Z. Danny Bate explains why T was the original end of the alphabet and how letters were added by the Greeks and Romans. We also look at the origin of the letter Y, which was originally a vowel, and the two historical reasons we call the final letter Z or Zed. Find Danny Bate on his website, Bluesky or on X. Get the book, "Why Q Needs U." Listen to Danny's podcast, "A Language I Love Is..." 🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat. 🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses. 🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter. 🔗 Take our advertising survey. 🔗 Get the edited transcript. 🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475). | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian | Theme music by Catherine Rannus. | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.