Graphic designers refer to the Italic and Roman forms as single-decker a and double decker a respectively.
In some of these, the serif that began the right leg stroke developed into an arc, resulting
in the printed form, while in others it was dropped, resulting
in the modern handwritten form. In Greek handwriting, it was common to join the left leg and horizontal stroke into a
single loop, as demonstrated by the uncial version shown. These variants, the Italic and Roman forms, were derived from the Caroline Script version.
The names of the vowel letter u and the semivowel letters w and y
are pronounced with a beginning consonant sound.
The names of the consonant letters f, h, l, m, n, r, s, and x
are pronounced with a beginning vowel sound. Problems arise occasionally when the
following word begins with a vowel letter but actually starts with a consonant
sound, or vice versa. In algebra, the letter "A" along with other letters at the beginning of the alphabet is used to represent known quantities.
In most languages that use the Latin alphabet,
⟨a⟩ denotes an open unrounded vowel, such as /a/, /ä/, or /ɑ/.
15th-century Italy saw the formation of the two main variants that are known today.
By the ninth century, the Caroline script, which was very similar to the present-day form, was the principal form
used in book-making, before the advent of the printing press.
There was also a cursive style used for everyday or utilitarian writing, which was done on more perishable surfaces.
