Alphabet Letters – Origins and Other Fun Facts

Alphabet letters are used by at least half of the world’s population. Though not all languages would use the same set of alphabets, alphabet letters all have one thing in common, and that is the fact that when combined together, they can form syllables and words which expresses an idea or a message. Find out more about them by reading on below.

 

 

Alphabet Letters – What Are They?

Letters are symbols that represents sounds which when combined together forms syllables which in turn makes up words. With the use of having an alphabetical system, a certain language can have a written form which makes transmission of information over vast distances in time and space possible.

Alphabet Letters – Origins of Where They Are From

The word ‘letter’ came from the French term ‘lettre’, which was derived from the Latin ‘littera’, meaning writing tablet which can further trace back its origins from the Greeks and Etruscans. The word ‘letter’ became a part of the English language about 900 years ago.

The word ‘letter’ is used to signify a sound, which is why it is associated with phonetics. Letters or letter forms are what comprises an alphabet. Usually, a letter is associated with more than one sound or phoneme, in which it is then called a digraph (if comprised of two letters) or a trigraph (if comprised of three letters).

Alphabet Letters – What Are Characteristics of Alphabet Letters?

An alphabet letter is different from a form of writing in which a symbol represents an idea, such as that used in Chinese Alphabet and Egyptian Alphabet. The following are more characteristics of alphabet letters:

Alphabet letters have a certain specific name

Sometimes, the names can differ as well. The way the name differs is depending on the dialect, language and history of the letter. An example of this is the letter Z, which is called Zee in the US and is called Zed in other countries.

Alphabet letters may represent numbers

In the case of Roman Numerals for instance, numbers are written in the form of letters.

Alphabet letters can represent one or more sounds

For example, in Spanish, the letter C can be used to convey a [k] sound or an [s] sound. This can be exemplified by the Spanish words Casita, wherein C is pronounced as [k] and Centimo, wherein C is pronounced as [s].

Alphabet letters have a prescribed order

Otherwise known as alphabetical order, it pertains to how the letters are arranged in their alphabet. For example, in English alphabet, ñ and n are sorted as the same but in Spanish alphabet, they are sorted as separate letters.

Alphabet Letters – Why are They Significant?

What makes alphabet letters so important is that without them, communication as we know today will not be possible. Even computer programming uses alphabet letters. Can you imagine not having a written language? Without the ability to write up ideas and thoughts, civilization will not flourish as it has. We will not have the internet, and there is almost no way for the fast dissemination of information which made globalization possible. Isn’t it great that we have alphabet letters?

Alphabet Letters – Origins and Other Fun Facts

Chinese Alphabet

The Chinese Alphabet has evolved from several origins over thousands of years to give us the Chinese writing system of today. As we all know, China is a vast country which has one of the oldest and the best civilizations on earth. It is no wonder that the origins and facts about the Chinese Alphabet would be as culturally rich as the country from which it came from. So let us now talk about the fun facts of the Chinese Alphabet, shall we?

The Chinese Alphabet Is Not Really an Alphabet

It is actually a writing script. To understand this, let us talk about the characteristics of alphabets. Alphabets consists of letters or letter forms which are written together to form syllables that form words. An alphabet letter usually does not stand on its own, except maybe the letter A in western alphabet which is a word in itself. The Chinese form of writing consists of Characters which represents a syllable. The characters can be a word in itself or be grouped together to form words or represent ideas. The best way to describe the Chinese way of writing is that it is a non-alphabetic script, although people who may not know that may call the Chinese Characters or Script as an Alphabet. It is excusable for people to use the wrong term but we just want to be clear that the Chinese way of writing is not the same as what is defined as an alphabet in the west.

Chinese Alphabet is a Way to Represent Ideas

The fact is that the Chinese form of writing uses Characters. These Characters are at times words in their own right. This means that Chinese Characters are not used as letters (with perhaps the exception of a few) but rather used as words or syllables that represents ideas or messages.

The Chinese Alphabet or Way of Writing has over 6,500 Characters

Chinese is a very complex language. Whereas it can take a person less than a year to master the English Alphabet and to read and write using it, learning to communicate in written form for Chinese takes years. Education of scribes takes years in China before they can write all the Chinese Characters. This is why Chinese Calligraphy is considered as a form of art in China, especially in ancient times. Today, modern Chinese uses pinyin which is a much simpler form of writing and reading Chinese.

Chinese Alphabet is Actually the Use of Pictograms

Chinese Characters are actually pictograms. It is closer to hieroglyphics than it is to the English Alphabet. Both the Chinese and ancient Egyptian form of writing utilizes picture words or pictograms to represent words and ideas. The difference would be that the Egyptians used picture drawings to represent words and ideas whereas the Chinese used stick figures to represent words and ideas, making it more complex and rich at the same time.

With Chinese being spoken by more than a billion people, knowing a bit more about the written form of the language is a fun way to understand the language, the culture and people of China. Having cleared the misconceptions about having a Chinese version of an alphabet, you are on your way to perhaps learning the beautiful written form of the Chinese language.

Chinese Alphabet

Mickey Mouse - The Ageless Icon

Mickey Mouse, the most notable animated character of all time was breathed to life by one man’s creative imagination. He maybe 86 years old, but there’s no trace of gray hair on him. He looks almost the same as the Mickey Mouse back in the day when Walt Disney has not yet carved a billion-dollar name for himself. While he may not be seen in the big screen as often as the Marvel superheroes nowadays, Mickey Mouse remains as one of the most recognizable characters in the world.

Contents

• 1 Product of The Genius
• 2 History
• 3 Mickey and Minnie
• 4 Merchandise

Movie Info

• Created by: Walt Disney


• First appearance: “Steamboat Willie” — Nov 18, 1928


• Voiced by (present to past): Chris Diamantopoulos (2013 to present);Bret Iwan (2009 to present);Wayne Allwine (1977 to 2009);Jimmy MacDonald (1947–77);Walt Disney (1928–47)

Character Info

• Species: Mouse


• Gender: Male


• Family: Mickey Mouse family


• Significant other(s): Minnie Mouse (Girlfriend)


• Pet dog: Pluto

 

Product of The Genius

The indie filmmaker Walt Disney carries mountain of ideas with light cash to produce cartoons back in the day. Little did he know that the birth of Mickey Mouse would put him in the map of superstardom and pop culture forever. He secured a deal with Columbia Pictures following warm audience reception of Mickey.

As Walt Disney kingdom rises to the top, Walt paid tribute to Mickey Mouse and said,

I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.

Walt Disney has lived up to his artistic sense and potential. His first cartoon strips in comics and newspapers depicted patriotic scenes of World War 1. He was attempted to join the Army, but was rejected and opted to join Red Cross instead. He was sent to France to drive an ambulance at the age of 16.

Before he died in 1966, he was regarded as business magnate, brilliant animator, director, voice actor and the one that forever changed the landscape of cartoons. During his lifetime, Walt won 22 awards, got 59 nominations and 4 honorary citations from no less than the Academy Awards.

Even after his death, The Walt Disney Company remains to be a profitable organization with that captured $45 billion in annual revenue last 2013.

History

To calculate Mickey Mouse’ overarching influence to pop culture is just mind-boggling. It was in 1928 when Mickey Mouse was conceived. From then on, the character has lorded and reigned over the entire Walt Disney Co. empire. It is second to none in the success ranking of all fictional characters created and introduced to the market. Even at old age, Mickey Mouse beats contemporary characters such as Spongebob, Pokemon and Spider Man in worldwide sales.

He was first seen in sound cartoon Steamboat Willie. The idea of Mickey Mouse was formed during a train ride from the Big Apple to Los Angeles. While it was Walt Disney who drew and gave birth to the character, Ub Iwerkes refurbished it to the image that people recognize today.

His original name was Mortimer and he was wearing this funny velvet pants. After a few years, Mickey Mouse appeared in more than 80 cartoon shows. Within the 40’s and 50’s period, his fellows including Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck joined him. It was in 1955 where Mickey started being the host of Disneyland. [/tab]

 

The salt to Mickey’s sweet, Donald Duck was introduced in 1934, and the two became inseparable. When the studio hits rough spot in the 1940’s, the mouse’s expanse saved the day by way of merchandise sales. Mickey first tasted a makeover in 1935, care of a young animator named Fred Moore. This man gave the character its pear-shaped body, white gloves, shortened nose and essentially made him cuter.

1. Did you know what inspired the famous bejeweled gloves of the King of Pop? It is very interesting to note that the late Michael Jackson was smitten by the antics and was a big fan of Mickey Mouse.
2. Did you also know that Mickey has only three fingers and a thumb? If you are a keen observer, you may have noticed this. The reason behind this was five digits are too many for a mouse.

Mickey’s cheerful, pleasant and sunny demeanor is his best asset. After invading the silver screen (black and white and colored alike), he set sail and dominated the world of comics from Americas to Europe. Today, a visit to any of Disneyland peppered in this sphere of existence would never be complete without saying hi to Mickey Mouse and his gang.

Mickey and Minnie

Minerva Mouse, fondly and widely known as Minnie Mouse is presented to the world as Mickey Mouse’s girlfriend. She is the bestfriend of Daisy Duck (who happens to be the girlfriend of Donald Duck, Mickey’s partner in crime).

While Mickey Mouse was making a name for himself, he could not fill the void alone. Coupled with Walt and Ub’s hunger for forging potential sweethearts, Minnie Mouse enters the scene. At present, her trademark outfit is a short polka dot dress with matching bow and white gloves. Believe it or not, the initial voice behind the damsel in distress was in fact Walt himself.

 

 

Merchandise

Mickey Mouse is timeless. If you want to be reminded of your good old childhood memories, there are tons of collectibles that you can buy from everywhere. Mickey’s brand and face are mostly seen in home decorations, toys, clothes, towels, figurines, laptop skins and even greeting cards.

The tandem of Mickey and Minnie Mouse is perhaps the most successful pair in history of animated love. Together, they sell like hotcakes. Merchandise such as drinking bottles, courier bag, bath towels, blankets, lamps, toddler bed, open sofa, kiddie pool, potty training system, plates, mugs, puzzles, watches, gourmet kitchenware and the famous ears are easy to find in most online stores.

If people are to create a mountain of Mickey Mouse merchandise today, wrist watches would be on top, and few sweatshirts on the side. A non-alcoholic beverage was also named after him – The Mickey Mouse cocktail. It’s a mixture of ice cream, tomato juice and cola.

Mickey Mouse has defined generations. And, there is no sign of slowing down in the years or decades to come. Whether it’s Disneyland in Paris, Hongkong or Florida, the brightest is still Mickey Mouse.

Mickey Mouse - The Ageless Icon

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