2006-06-13 23:28:49 · 14 answers · asked by sherry 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Special Education
Q is not at all followed by 'U' always. Followed only most of the time. see these words, "qabala, qabalah, qabalistic, qintar, qadi, Qing dynasty". More than 100 words starts in "q" but not followed by 'U' in it.
2006-06-13 23:35:48 · answer #1 · answered by Arun P. 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As with any other phonic rule in English, it has to do with which language the word is coming from. The non-u examples given above are all from Middle Eastern and Oriental origins.
Q-words from European origins are always "qu." I am speculating, but I have a suspicion that "q" used to have more than one sound and followed spelling rules similar to how "g" does today, in order to cue the reader about which sound to use.
For "g", if it is followed by e, i, or y it says "j", except in a few words from Old English (girl, give, get). In order to make "g" keep it's "hard" sound when followed by e, i, or y, a silent u is placed after it to "protect" it from the change, just as with "q." For example, guilt, guile, guess, etc. There are pages of these "gu" words in the dictionary.
You will also notice that in those non-u words, the "q" says "k." In the "qu" words, it says "kw."
2006-06-14 01:16:49 · answer #2 · answered by spedusource 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is because of the phonetic. When u say Q you hear the 'u' sound at the end. Hence 95% of the words starting with Q will be followed by U
2006-06-13 23:32:14 · answer #3 · answered by Naresh 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually that is not true there are a few words that do not have a "u" following the "q". Qaid for one. It is a type of coin. Check out your dictionary, find some others. Could be fun.
2006-06-13 23:32:27 · answer #4 · answered by Calina 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Q-U component is for English. Arabic isn't English. different languages also use Q with out following it with a U, like the Pin-Yin transliteration gadget for Mandarin chinese language. for instance, the Mandarin word for "please" is "qing", suggested ching. do not question me why they did not spell it that way... 'c' and 'ch' in Pin-Yin have distinct pronunciations... Transliteration structures for languages that do not commonly use Latin characters can get fairly weird and wonderful.
2016-10-30 21:06:00 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't follow u.
2006-06-13 23:32:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's how the English language is.
2006-06-13 23:31:40 · answer #7 · answered by Clara Isabella 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It isnt in Iraq or Qatar
2006-06-13 23:29:53 · answer #8 · answered by Perkins 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
qoran
Qena.
qashqai
qadarite
Qinhuangdao
2006-06-13 23:37:54 · answer #9 · answered by cherokeeflyer 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don`t know you can ask the first guy that spoke english
2006-06-13 23:31:06 · answer #10 · answered by hania 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋