It may come as a surprise that the English language has over the centuries dropped as many as ten letters from its arsenals, bringing its strength down to 26 from 36. The video above, by Gregory ...

It even had its own song.This isn't the only letter that has been lost in time. Languages grow and evolve, and English has actually lost a few letters along the way, while not gaining U and J ...

Where it comes from: The letters h and v merged. In English: Although we used to have hw (or hƿ) all over the place — respelled now as wh — we never used this letter. Don't know ƕy not! 6. ƣ ...

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet. But how did they get there, and why do they look the way they do? Michael Rosen looks for answers in his new book Alphabetical.