How non-Latin script languages use the letter Q – it doesn’t follow English conventions, from qi in Mandarin to souq in Arabic
- It’s a big month for the letter Q in terms of Pride Month and LGBTQ, an acronym in which the letter can represent both ‘queer’ and ‘questioning’
- Q is mixed into some Chinese languages to mean ‘cute’; can mean ‘chewy’ in Taiwanese Hokkien; while Qatar Airways uses it for wordplay in words like ‘Quisine’
Q is the least (or second least, depending on method of counting) frequently used letter in the English language. It usually occurs as the sequence “qu”, pronounced “kw” at the beginning of syllables, as in “question”, or as the sequence “que” at the end of words, pronounced “k”, as in “clique”.
Its relative rarity in English orthography means that in the word game of Scrabble, Q scores the maximum 10 points (like Z, the other least frequent letter in English), compared with the frequent, thus one-point, vowels and L, N, S, T, R.
When languages with other scripts are transcribed into the Latin script, the letter Q does not follow these English conventions for spelling and pronunciation.
In the romanisation of Arabic, Latin script Q is used for the Arabic letter qaf. This is pronounced with the back of the tongue in contact with a point on the roof of the mouth further back than for the English “k”. Such words in English include souq, an Arabic marketplace, and qibla, the point to which Muslims turn in prayer.
Qatar’s national airline uses the uniqueness of Q in English for wordplay: in-flights meals are presented as “Quisine” – marking an even more bespoke cuisine.
Words in English coming from Mandarin include qi, the circulating physical life force in Chinese philosophy, and the Qin and Qing dynasties.
Do you know which word came first: turtle, tortoise or terrapin?
In Mandarin pinyin romanisation, “q” is not pronounced as “k”; rather it represents a sound similar to the affricate sound as in English spelling “ch” but with the contact between tip of the tongue and roof of the mouth at a point further forward.
Interestingly, Q does figure in another language as the letter Q and with English pronunciation. The Taiwanese Hokkien term “kiu” means “chewy, springy, bouncy” (akin to al dente) – describing the culinary texture ideal for noodles, fish balls and boba. The English letter Q, with similar pronunciation, was adopted, and then also used in other Chinese languages. The meaning can be intensified by reduplication – QQ means “very chewy”.
Q is similarly mixed into some Chinese languages to mean “cute”, presumably as homophones, after deletion of the final “t”. Thus nǐ hěn Q a! 你很Q啊 means “you’re really cute”.
Most significantly for June – Pride Month – Q in the acronym LGBTQ can represent “queer” – a term reclaimed from earlier negative use, and valued for being inclusive of the entire community, or appropriate for more fluid identities – or “questioning” for those still exploring their sexual orientation, identity or gender.
