{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgrammar-girl.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fdanny-bate-2V_84eOT","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Why Q needs U and how hieroglyphics created our alphabet, with Danny Bate","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/6e27cc4d-f23d-4983-b80a-3f34562d91a7/afb9f81f-6004-4191-a34d-0147e8f6c322/gg-20interview-20show-20mock-20up-20art-20-33.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/d2aa3141-b38d-436b-9fa6-69f6fb52839c\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"Why Q needs U and how hieroglyphics created our alphabet, with Danny Bate\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"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. "}