Jump to content
  • entries
    2
  • comments
    6
  • views
    34,377

Is 'E' really so popular?

CaleyD

Entry posted by CaleyD

25,402 views

 Share

I was watching a quiz show the other night when they asked the question "What is the most commonly used letter in the English language?". The answer given, and accepted as correct was the letter "E".

But is it really? Even setting aside the ever increasing use of text speak and it's tendency to drop vowels the ever increasing use of social networking sites seems to have brought with it new habits which would might mean the statistics might need a little revision.

For a start, the letter "X" which is currently ranked third from the bottom can be seen at the end of most communications...several times in some instances. Surely that would move the letter far further up the table than it is currently given credit for? Then you have "LOL" which seems to have a foot on both the TLA and Text Speak camps. Currently ranked mid table (11th place), you would think that the letter "L" must be due a promotion.

These are just examples that spring immediately to mind, I am sure others also exist....but nothing I can think of would suggest that "E" deserves to be holding the crown for most commonly used letter....certainly not if you take a true reflection of how the English language is communicated in this day and age.

I have no idea where the statistics are drawn from, but it would appear that currently used (and apparently accepted) tables are in need of a bit of revision.

 Share

5 Comments

Recommended Comments

Kirishima

Kirishima 103

Posted

Good pertinent blog. It will be a while until text speak is accepted. But language, like anything, evolves, if that means "see" becomes "c" or "are" becomes "r" so be it. It wasn't so long ago that "whom" and "thee" were commonly used, and i'm sure the literati back then bemoaned its fall. Language does not belong to any one time, only the majority.

Scotty

Scotty 4,656

Posted

I see they even allowed "wanker" on countdown this week as its now in the dictionary !!!

Wanderer

Wanderer 247

Posted

I see they even allowed "******" on countdown this week!!!

Gyles Brandreth was it?

  • Agree 1
  • Funny 1
Alex MacLeod

Alex MacLeod 1,539

Posted

Interesting blog CD. Did you know that there are 1,135 characters in the blog and 142 letter E's. So 12.5 percent of the blog is the letter E

lauraness

lauraness 9

Posted

My favourite old word is 'yonder' and it has an e in it right eenuff



  • Upcoming Events

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • tm4tj
      Aaron Doran Testimonial v Ross County

      By tm4tj · Posted

      Aaron Doran was a substitute for the Caley Jags in his testimonial game against local rivals Ross County, who aired their new strip for season 25/26 Both sides fielded strong line-ups with the hosts benching Doran and fielding two trialists on from the start. Doran was in good company with Billy Mckay, Luis Longstaff and new signing Jordan Alonge on the bench beside him. A bright and breezy afternoon for this 2:00pm kick off with County getting the game underway, kicking towards the North Stand. Ronan Hale bagged the opener in the seventh minute with a great finish, Cornelius with the assist. Ross Laidlaw in the County goal saved from Wotherspoon ten minutes before the break, but right on the interval Hale scored from a thumping free kick to double the visitors advantage. HALF TIME: 0-2 Changes were made at the interval by County with Inverness waiting until the hour before McKay, Longstaff, Robbie Thompson and new signing Jordan Alonge were introduced. Billy Mckay brought Laidlaw into action with twenty minutes remaining. The main man came on to an appreciative round of applause from a decent support, replacing Wotherspoon on 70 minutes to say his farewells. More subs followed by both as everyone got involved in the play. Sub keeper Logan Ross denied Eamonn Brophy near the end. FULL TIME: 0-2 Decent workout for both sides. Ronan Hale showing his class with two great strikes, but today was not about the result, it was to show our gratitude for a great servant to the club. Thank you Aaron Doran
    • tm4tj
      Aaron Doran Testimonial v Ross County

      By tm4tj · Posted

    • Scotty
      Aaron Doran Testimonial v Ross County

      By Scotty · Posted

      Get this from time to time on TicketBa***** for any tickets I try to buy for events over here. Seems to be a back-end security thing. My problem is opposite, works on personal device but not on work computer. Seems to think something strange with our network arrangement / firewall / IP range or something. Exact same message ""Your Browsing Activity Has Been Paused.  We've detected unusual behaviour on either your network or your browser"
    • CaleyD
      Aaron Doran Testimonial v Ross County

      By CaleyD · Posted

      You could have donated direct via the bank details given above and avoided Ticketmaster taking their cut!
    • tm4tj
      Aaron Doran Testimonial v Ross County

      By tm4tj · Posted

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. : Terms of Use : Guidelines : Privacy Policy