The development of the letter Kk

the Semitic origin of the letter Old Egyptians used the open hand as a sign to represent the letter D as in the Egyptian word DRT, meaning hand. Semites who lived in Egypt, adopted the sign of an open hand to represent the letter K as in the Semitic word “kap”.

The proto Semitic Kk

From phoenician to Greek Later on, the sign of the letter came to the Greek (kappa) via Phoenician (kaph). Phoenician Kaph: The Greek Kappa:

From Greek to Latin When Greek words were taken into Latin, the Kappa was changed into C. In the early Latin, the letters C, K and Q were all used to represent the sound /k/. Q was used to represent /k/ before a rounded vowel. K before /a/, and C elsewhere. Later, the use of C replaced most usages of K and Q. K survived only in a few fossilized forms.

Kk in modern English Words with the /k/ sound came to English when already transliterated into C. Today, English is the only Germanic language to use hard C in addition to K. The wikipedia, defines Kk as the eleventh letter of of the basic modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English is “kay”. It is pronounced as /keɪ/.

Conclusion – letter formation Egyptian Hieroglyph Proto- Semitic Kk Phoenician Greek Kk Latin alphabet

Conclusion – letter pronunciation The letter is pronounced /k/. This sound value came into English via Semitic.