why do you pronounce W double-u and not double-v?

Answer 1

I saw this exact question answered on another site:

"English uses the Latin alphabet of the Romans. However, this had no letter suitable for representing the phoneme /w/ which was used in Old English, though phonetically the sound represented by /v/ was quite close. In the 7th century scribes wrote uu for /w/; later they used the runic symbols known as wynn. European scribes had continued to write uu, and this usage returned to England with the Norman Conquest in 1066. Early printers sometimes used vv for lack of a w in their type. The name double-u recalls the former identity of u and v, which is also evident in a number of cognate words (flour/flower, guard/ward, suede/Swede, etc.).(Oxford Companion to the English Language)"

Answer 2

The letter W looks alot like the number 6 in early latin. The early latin pernounciation of the number six sounded like Dubyoo. The exchange over time simply became Dubble-u based on the obvious confusion.

Kinda makes you think though doesn't it? Could the Bible have been referring to the number of the Beast as WWW (world wide web)? after all, the new chip that is supposed to be implanted in peoples hands is called the Memory Accounting Relay Chip (MARC) that is controlled by a computer called The Brussles Electronic Accounting Servailence Terminal (BEAST) and operated through the WWW.

Wierd HUH?

Answer 3

They do in France. Double Vay. And Y is pronounced egreck! Weird huh!

Answer 4

This comes from Latin. In Latin, "U" was written as a "V", since the letter "U" had not yet been introduced into the current alphabet. That is why W is pronounced "double U".

Answer 5

Funny, isn't it? In Spanish and French it's called "double v." Is it because the English language saw the need to distance itself from the German? (I just wonder).

Answer 6

A little w is a double-u.... In the french alphabet it is doublé véé (Double -v)

Answer 7

It's to do with handwriting, They didnt have computers when they made the alphabet so, W and W would be written in handwriting, making it look like two U's

Answer 8

I write it curved so it would be a double UU to me.

Answer 9

Depends how the w is written, perhaps - a w with curved bases will look like two 'u's especially when written in cursive style.

Answer 10

maybe they used to write it as a u, anyway, in spanish & in french it is double "v".