The document discusses the relationships between letters in written language. While the English language uses only 26 lowercase letters, the combinations of these letters can form a huge number of words. Individual letters have distinct shapes, but some share left and right profiles, like q and d or n and h. The space between letters is crucial for rapid word recognition and maintaining readability over long periods. Proper spacing, through techniques like kerning, helps support comprehension. Writing systems originated in Mesopotamia during the late 3rd millennium BC according to some scholars.

1. abcdefghijklm
nopqrstuvwxy
The English language may use
just 26 lowercase letters, but the
number of ways in which they can
be combined is huge. The shapes
made by the space between these
letters are however much fewer in
number. Each letter must have its
own form, but some right and left
profiles are shared between several
letters. Consider q and d, or n and
h. Thus ‘hot’ and ‘not’ are two dif-
ferent words, but using the same
shape between the letters.
Words in the Dictionary
171,476 words

2. Letter Frequency Oxford Concise Dictionary
E - 11.1607%
A - 8.4966%
J - 0.1965%
Letter frequency and above all letter
combination are the characteristics
that determine the look of a language.
If Latin had had more of use for the
lowercase j, then this character would
not hang from the x-line as it does, but
rather stand on the baseline like n or
float like o. The j is unique in this; and
it is a historical mistake.

3. n
The essential thing is that the space
between the letters should never be
greater than the space inside n or m.

4. relationship
Letters do not live in isolation. They are
the elements of meaning, the compo-
nents of visible language, and their spatial
relationship with each other is crucial, not
only for rapid recognition of words by the
reader but for the reglarity of texture that
is essential if the reader’s comprehension
is to be maintained for a long period.

5. ‘kerning’ - allows a letter to intrude
into the ‘air space’ of another when the
circumstances make it desirable.

6. Nearly all writing as we have known it
for the last 2000 years, originated in the
Fertile Crescent during the latter part of the
3rd millenium BC; and, in the opinions of
some scholars, in Mespotamia itself.