Today I pondered why in the world the Dutch alphabet I'm stitching has a missing J. I've had this pattern for over a year now and just figured out in the past week that the J is missing. After doing some research and asking an expert on samplers and history, I found out that the J and I used to be interchangeable and actually it wasn't until the past the medieval times did the J get created into the alphabet. So, this explains from the Websters International Dictionary as quote:
J is a comparatively late variant from the Latin I which was used indifferently as a vowel or consonant, its consonantal value being that of English Y in yet. The form J was developed from i during the Middle Ages, and it was long used in certain positions in the word merely without regard to the sound as a consonant or vowel. But the lengthened form was often initial, and the initial was usually consonantal, so the j gradually became differentiated from i in function as well as form. It was not, however, until the 17th century that the distinction of j as a consonant and i as a vowel was fully established and the capital J introduced. In English, the regular and practically uniform sound of j as in "jet" (dzh), the same as g in "gem," dates from the 11th century, that being the sound represented by i when consonantal in words then introduced from old French.And seeming that my first word as a baby was "why" I had to find out the why of the missing J today. I asked The Sampler Girl as I knew she would be an expert on this and she helped me start searching for more information. Thanks, Tanya!!
Brandon should be home soon and can't wait to hear his training stories!!!!!
our Friday night appetizer
He was so incredibly excited that he started pawing over and over in the plate while he was eating the pizza.......no hair left. Almost 16 years old now but an appetite that you wouldn't believe. He eats as much as I do. Where does Ren put it???? OMG
