Why Are There More Consonants Than Vowels In Alphabetic Languages?

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Why are there more consonants than vowels in alphabetic languages?

Bob Ladd Edinburgh, UK

The answer partly depends on whether we are talking about the sounds or letters of vowels and consonants. By mentioning “alphabetic languages”, the questioner is presumably asking why most versions of our alphabet have roughly 20 consonant letters but only five vowel letters.

The reason for that is simple: classical Latin (for which the Roman alphabet was designed) had about 20 consonant sounds and five vowel sounds. Writing systems tend to be conservative, so languages that use the Roman alphabet have mostly avoided making up new…

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