Why Q Needs U
- Author Danny Bate
- Narrator Danny Bate
- Publisher Bonnier Books UK
- Publish Date 2 October 2025
- Run Time 10 hours and 15 minutes
- Format x-book®
- Genre Ancient history, Language and Linguistics, Writing systems, alphabets.
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What to expect
'An excellent read.' Susie Dent
'You'll never look at a keyboard the same way after reading Danny Bate's fascinating linguistic history.' Sunday Times
Why does 'W' sounds like 'double U'?
What has the letter 'Q' got to do with monkeys?
Why are the 'C's in circus pronounced differently?
What's the point of the second 'N' in the author's first name, 'Danny'?
And why does 'Q' need to be followed by 'U'?
Every letter you're reading right now has a fascinating story to tell, having been on a long linguistic, historical, political and social journey.
In Why Q Needs U, linguistic expert Danny Bate takes readers on a fascinating odyssey through the English alphabet, diving into history, archaeology, politics and linguistics to discover where we get our writing from. Sharing fun facts and revealing the alphabet's hidden mechanisms, he explains where we get our letters from and why the English language uses them so strangely.
Explaining - and defending - the peculiar way English today uses our ancient letters, Bate's witty and entertaining book will help readers spot connections in languages across the world and inspire a newfound sense of wonder for the letters we use every day.
'Charming' The Economist
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