Vowels...
We use them every day, but how much do we really know about them?
In the English language we have five specific vowel letters,
each with its own unique personality.
First off on this linguistic A-list is, well, it's A...
about as popular and versatile a letter as you can get.
A balances representing an impressive seven different vowel sounds
with the glitz and the glamour
that comes from being the English language's very first letter.
A is literally the alpha of our entire alphabet.
It's the highest grade a teacher can give you for your work,
we have A-list celebrities,
and many of us grew up watching The A-Team save the day
on a regular basis.
Some scientists believe that A has an entrenched motivating impact on us,
and can improve performance at work or creatively.
A is quite playful.
It features in a lot of words that are just, well, fun to say,
like llama, aardvark,
handbags, balaclava,
Madagascar, jazz hands,
to name a few.
And A isn't too interested in numbers either.
If you spelt out every number from one upwards
you wouldn't be using an A until you got all the way up to 1,000.
E, in contrast, is much more grounded.
It's the only vowel in our most-used word - the.
And it's also the most-used letter in our entire alphabet,
appearing in 11% of all the words we use.
It's the second most likely key
to break on your keyboard from overuse.
E is essential to storytelling -
it allows us to write in the past tense.
When E is left to its own devices,
it takes a deep interest in the natural world...
endlessly green elements, stems, trees, weeds, levees etc.
I is very concerned with its appearance.
It was the first letter to receive a dot when in its lower case form
and it's the only letter that is always capitalised when on its own.
It's also the first word in the shortest complete sentence
in the English language - I am.
It's great for active verbs, and when on its own,
it appears in a host of words related to excess and desire.
Without it, you couldn't have kissing, or drinking,
or hitting, or spilling, or hardly any illicit thrills at all.
Out of all the symbols we use for vowels,
O is the one that appears the most in other languages,
even ones that developed completely independently of each other.
The shape of the letter O
mirrors the shape of your mouth as you make the sound,
and it's thought that's why
it appears in so many different languages.
This constant circular shape with no beginning or end
offers some of our most mysterious words...
things like the moon,
spooky howls,
grottos, horror,
ghosts,
groans, moans
and bones, too.
U is much more scientific and,
partly due to its lateness in the alphabet,
always has one eye on the future.
It's an abbreviation for university,
for uranium, and is linked to submarines.
It provides us with some pleasant words,
but also some of our most unpleasant ones.
U also works well with other letters.
It can be completely silent when it wants to be,
and it can be rare to get three vowels together in a row,
but when it happens, in most instances,
U is in there holding it all together.
So there you have it. The English language's vowels -
essential to everyday life,
each one packed full of personality.
You'd best learn to live with them,
because you can't speak without them.