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Home > Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing > Why Q needs U and how hieroglyphics created our alphabet, with Danny Bate


	Podcast:		Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
	Episode:		Why Q needs U and how hieroglyphics created our alphabet, with Danny Bate
	Category:		Education
	Duration:		00:37:49
	Publish Date:		2025-10-16 09:00:00
	Description:		1125. This week, we talk with linguist and author Danny Bate about his book, "Why Q Needs U." We look at the ancient origins of our alphabet, tracing its conceptual leap from Egyptian hieroglyphs to symbols that represent sounds. Danny explains the "acrophonic principle" (one sound from a picture) and why the letter A was originally a consonant, not a vowel. Find Danny Bate on his website, Bluesky or on X. Get the book, "Why Q Needs U." Listen to Danny's podcast, "A Language I Love Is..." Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat. Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses. Subscribe to the newsletter. Take our advertising survey. Get the edited transcript. Get Grammar Girl books. Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference. \| HOST: Mignon Fogarty \| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475). \| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian \| Theme music by Catherine Rannus. \| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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