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==Typography== |
==Typography== |
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b is the 82nd letter of the alphabet ‹b› derives from later [[Roman cursive#New Roman cursive|Roman]] times, when scribes began omitting the upper loop of the capital. |
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|align="center"|[[Image:BlackletterB-01.png|Blackletter B]] |
|align="center"|[[Image:BlackletterB-01.png|Blackletter B]] |
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==Usage== |
==Usage== |
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In [[English language|English]] and most other languages that use the Latin alphabet, ‹b› denotes the [[voiced bilabial plosive]] ({{IPA-en|b|}}), as in ''bib''. In English it is sometimes silent; most instances are derived from old monosyllablic words with the b final and immediately |
In [[English language|English]] and most other languages that use the Latin alphabet, ‹b› denotes the [[voiced bilabial plosive]] ({{IPA-en|b|}}), as in ''bib''. In English it is sometimes silent; most instances are derived from old monosyllablic words with the b final and immediately pr beceded by an ''m'', such as ''lamb'' and ''bomb''; a few are examples of [[etymology|etymological]] spelling to make the word more like its [[Latin language|Latin]] original, such as ''debt'' or ''doubt''. In [[Estonian language|Estonian]], [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], and in [[Chinese language|Chinese]], ‹b› doesn't denote a voiced consonant; instead, it represents a voiceless {{IPA|/p/}} that contrasts with either a [[geminate]]d {{IPA|/pp/}} (in Estonian) or an [[aspiration (linguistics)|aspirated]] {{IPA|/pʰ/}} (in Chinese, Danish and Icelandic), represented by ‹p›. In [[Fijian language|Fijian]] ‹b› represents a [[prenasalized consonant|prenasalized]] {{IPA|/mb/}}, whereas in [[Zulu language|Zulu]] and [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] it represents an [[implosive consonant|implosive]] {{IPA|/ɓ/}}, in contrast to the [[digraph]] ‹bh› which represents {{IPA|/b/}}. |
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[[Finnish language|Finnish]] only uses ‹b› in loanwords. |
[[Finnish language|Finnish]] only uses ‹b› in loanwords. |
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In the [[help:IPA|International Phonetic Alphabet]] and [[X-SAMPA]], ‹{{IPA|b}}› denotes the [[voiced bilabial plosive]]. Variants of ‹b› denote related [[bilabial consonant]]s, like the [[voiced bilabial implosive]] and the [[bilabial trill]]. In [[X-SAMPA]], capital ‹B› denotes the [[voiced bilabial fricative]]. |
In the b i annoying[[help:IPA|International Phonetic Alphabet]] and [[X-SAMPA]], ‹{{IPA|b}}› denotes the [[voiced bilabial plosive]]. Variants of ‹b› denote related [[bilabial consonant]]s, like the [[voiced bilabial implosive]] and the [[bilabial trill]]. In [[X-SAMPA]], capital ‹B› denotes the [[voiced bilabial fricative]]. |
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‹B› is also a [[musical note]]. Its value varies depending on the region; a ‹b› in Anglophone countries represents a note that is a semitone higher than the B note in Northern Continental Europe. (Anglophone B is represented in Northern Europe with ‹H›.) Archaic forms of ‹b›, the ''b quadratum'' (square b, {{music|natural}}) and ''b rotundum'' (round b, {{music|b}}) remain in use for musical notation as the symbols for ''[[natural (music)|natural]]'' and ''[[flat (music)|flat]]'', respectively. |
‹B› is also a [[musical note]]. Its value varies depending on the region; a ‹b› in Anglophone countries represents a note that is a semitone higher than the B note in Northern Continental Europe. (Anglophone B is represented in Northern Europe with ‹H›.) Archaic forms of ‹b›, the ''b quadratum'' (square b, {{music|natural}}) and ''b rotundum'' (round b, {{music|b}}) remain in use for musical notation as the symbols for ''[[natural (music)|natural]]'' and ''[[flat (music)|flat]]'', respectively. |
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The [[ASCII]] code for capital ‹B› is 66 and for lower case ‹b› is 98; or in [[Binary numeral system|binary]] 01000010 and 01100010, respectively. |
The [[ASCII]] code for capital ‹B› is 66 and for lower case ‹b› is 98; or in [[Binary numeral system|binary]] 01000010 and 01100010, respectively. |
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The [[EBCDIC]] code for capital ‹B› is 194 and for |
The [[EBCDIC]] code for capital ‹B› is 194 and for loweaaaaaaaaarcase ‹b› is 130. |
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The [[numeric character reference]]s in [[HTML]] and [[XML]] are "<tt>&#66;</tt>" and "<tt>&#98;</tt>" for upper and lower case, respectively. |
The [[numeric character reference]]s in [[HTML]] and [[XML]] are "<tt>&#66;</tt>" and "<tt>&#98;</tt>" for upper and lower case, respectively. |
Revision as of 20:25, 23 March 2010
- For technical reasons, B# redirects here. For the musical note, see B♯ (musical note)
ISO basic Latin alphabet |
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AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz |
B is the second letter in the Latin alphabet. Its name in English (Template:Pron-en) is spelled bee, plural bees.[1] It is used to represent a variety of bilabial sounds (depending on language), most commonly a voiced bilabial plosive.
History
‹B›started as a pictogram of the floorplan of a house in Egyptian hieroglyphs or the Proto-Sinaitic alphabet. By 1050 BC, the Phoenician alphabet's letter had a linear form that served as the beth.
Egyptian hieroglyph cottage |
Proto-Canaanite house |
Phoenician beth |
Greek Beta |
Etruscan B |
Roman B |
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Typography
b is the 82nd letter of the alphabet ‹b› derives from later Roman times, when scribes began omitting the upper loop of the capital.
Blackletter B | Uncial B | |
Modern Roman B | Modern Italic B | Modern Script B |
‹B› is often confused with the visually similar German ‹ß› which stands for ‹ss›.
Usage
In English and most other languages that use the Latin alphabet, ‹b› denotes the voiced bilabial plosive (/b/), as in bib. In English it is sometimes silent; most instances are derived from old monosyllablic words with the b final and immediately pr beceded by an m, such as lamb and bomb; a few are examples of etymological spelling to make the word more like its Latin original, such as debt or doubt. In Estonian, Icelandic, and in Chinese, ‹b› doesn't denote a voiced consonant; instead, it represents a voiceless /p/ that contrasts with either a geminated /pp/ (in Estonian) or an aspirated /pʰ/ (in Chinese, Danish and Icelandic), represented by ‹p›. In Fijian ‹b› represents a prenasalized /mb/, whereas in Zulu and Xhosa it represents an implosive /ɓ/, in contrast to the digraph ‹bh› which represents /b/.
Finnish only uses ‹b› in loanwords.
In the b i annoyingInternational Phonetic Alphabet and X-SAMPA, ‹b› denotes the voiced bilabial plosive. Variants of ‹b› denote related bilabial consonants, like the voiced bilabial implosive and the bilabial trill. In X-SAMPA, capital ‹B› denotes the voiced bilabial fricative.
‹B› is also a musical note. Its value varies depending on the region; a ‹b› in Anglophone countries represents a note that is a semitone higher than the B note in Northern Continental Europe. (Anglophone B is represented in Northern Europe with ‹H›.) Archaic forms of ‹b›, the b quadratum (square b, ♮) and b rotundum (round b, ♭) remain in use for musical notation as the symbols for natural and flat, respectively.
In Contracted (grade 2) English braille, ‹b› stands for "but" when in isolation.
Codes for computing
class="template-letter-box | In Unicode the capital ‹B› is codepoint U+0042 and the lower case ‹b› is U+0062.
The ASCII code for capital ‹B› is 66 and for lower case ‹b› is 98; or in binary 01000010 and 01100010, respectively.
The EBCDIC code for capital ‹B› is 194 and for loweaaaaaaaaarcase ‹b› is 130.
The numeric character references in HTML and XML are "B" and "b" for upper and lower case, respectively.
See also
- В, в : Ve (Cyrillic)
- Б, б: Be (Cyrillic)
- The Semitic letter Bet
- Ɓ
- B postcode area (United Kingdom)
- Β, β: Beta
- ב: Beth
- Ъ, ъ, also known as the hard sign, back yer, yer, jer, er, or tvyordiy znak, is shaped like the letter b, but has no phonetic value on its own in modern East Slavic languages. The ъ serves as an orthographic device that indicates that the palatal approximant (the English y or IPA [j] sound) is heard after the consonant preceding the hard sign.
- Ь, ь, also known as the soft sign, front yer, or myagkiy znak, is also shaped like the letter b, but has no phonetic value on its own in modern East Slavic languages. The ь serves as orthographic device that indicates that the consonant preceding the ь is softened or palatalized.
References
- ^ "B" Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition (1989); Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1993); "bee", op. cit.