The Strangest Letter of the Alphabet: The Rise and Fall of Yogh This article by Colin Gorrie explores the history of the obscure medieval letter yogh (ȝ), revealing the linguistic and scribal complexities behind English spelling and pronunciation. English Spelling Complexity English spelling is famously irregular, featuring silent letters (e.g., in "knight," "honour") and one sound spelled many ways. This complexity has historical roots, influenced by French, printing technology, and orthographic reforms. The article aims to explain a key contributor to this irregularity: the letter yogh. Origin of the Letter 'g' Modern "g" used in English comes from the Carolingian minuscule script (8th-9th century). Old English scribes used an insular 'g' (ᵹ), resembling a mix of 'z' and '3'. This insular 'g' was used to represent different sounds in Old English manuscripts. For example, in "Beowulf," the insular 'g' appears instead of modern 'g'. Anglo-Saxons used the Carolingian "g" mainly for Latin texts after the late 10th-century church reforms. The Norman Influence and the Appearance of Yogh (ȝ) After 1066, Norman scribes introduced normanized Carolingian minuscule, changing writing practices. English writing was scarce through the 12th century, so new scribes adapted to write English sounds. They adopted a new letter, yogh (ȝ), derived from the insular g, but distinct from the Carolingian 'g'. Yogh had two main sounds in Middle English (1100–1450): The "y" sound as in "young" or "yesterday." A now-lost guttural sound found in Scots "loch" or German "Bach" ([x] in IPA). The 'gh' Sound and the Legacy of Yogh The problematic "gh" spelling in words like "laugh," "cough," and "night" derives from yogh representing the guttural sound. Yogh could represent both the "y" sound and the guttural "gh" sound, making Middle English orthography confusing. Comparison with Modern Letters 'c' and 'g' Modern English letters 'c' and 'g' also represent two different sounds: 'c' is pronounced as /k/ in "cat" and /s/ in "city." 'g' is pronounced /g/ in "good" and /j/ in "gem." These contrasts arise from a linguistic process called palatalization—sounds produced at the back of the mouth move forward when adjacent to front vowels. Old English "g" had three sounds depending on context: /y/ (before front vowels), /g/ (word start), and /gh/ (word middle). Decline and Disappearance of Yogh Both "y" and "gh" sounds had alternative spellings in Middle English ("y" as 'i' or 'y'; "gh" as 'h', 'ȝh', or 'gh'). The printing press, imported from Flanders, lacked a type for yogh, which was expensive to produce. Readily available alternatives and printing pressures caused yogh to disappear from English spelling entirely. However, in Scotland, yogh persisted longer: Scottish scribes replaced yogh with the letter 'z' due to visual similarity in cursive. This substitution led to altered pronunciations in Scottish names, e.g., "Menzies" pronounced "Mingus," "Mackenzie" as "Mackenyie." Cultural and Linguistic Insights The article encourages a greater appreciation of the complex history behind English spelling. The legacy of yogh illuminates the influence of scribal practices, language contact, and technological change on English orthography. It also underscores how linguistic processes like palatalization shaped sounds and spellings. --- Additional Notes Yogh was pronounced variably (rhyming with log, loch, or brogue). The Carolingian minuscule "g" has two forms (double-storey and single-storey) used in modern fonts. The guttural sound yogh represented is the voiceless velar fricative [x]. Old English scribes sometimes marked the "y"-like "g" with a dot (ġ) for clarity. The article's discussions and examples invite readers to explore the depth of English historical linguistics. --- For readers interested in historical linguistics, English