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The last three letters were the W, the U and the J.
In an attempt to identify which two were the latest additions, we will consider each candidate separately.
W
The letter w had come into relatively common use by the 1300's. The sound was previously represented by the runic symbol (Ƿ ƿ) called a wynn or pynn. In due course this runic letter was dropped and the sound was then represented by two Latin v's put together, vv. or uu. In view of the fact that one of the pronunciations of the v letter was the 'oo/you' sound, this 'new letter' was called the 'double oo', now known as 'double you.' However, it seems that the actual date of its transition from being two letters joined together (vv, uu) into being one unique letter (w) is unknown.
U
Old English used runic symbols/letters. The runic letter that looks like an upsidedown 'v' seems to correspond with the Latin u or v. So the U existed (upside down!) in Old English, which was used in the British Isles many centuries prior to the general conversion to a Roman/Latin alphabet form.
Early Latin used the v. (veh) In Classical Latin inscriptions, a 'V' represents either the 'v ' or the 'u' sound, depending on the word. But manuscripts and inscriptions show this letter written in different ways. Sometimes the cursive rounded 'uncial' u style is seen, in even as far back as the 8th century and earlier. But the angular 'italic' style v was also in vogue. Regardless of how it was written, it had two pronunciations -compare vervmwith uerum!
In due course the more rounded letter u (oo/you) was used to reflect the 'vowel' pronunciation, and the angular v was used for the consonantal sound. For example uerum became verum, which is Latin for true. But even in early printing we find that an initial 'u' sound was still often represented by the letter 'v'. For example, the word upon was printed as vpon. In the passage of time the new letter u for the vowel sound became much more commonplace, certainly by the end of the 1700's.
J
The letter J is also a recent addition. Before the letter J, j was designed, the letter I, i(Phoenician yodh, Greek/Latin iota) was used to represented several different 'phonetic' sounds. For example, the word journey was spelled iourne in the 1390's.
In due course the letter J, in the form much as we know it now, was adopted to represent the soft g sound, pronounced like the g in geranium. Interestingly, some cursive scripts still show capital J's and I's as being either identical or virtually indistinguishable from each other!)
Although the letter J appears in some printed works of the 1600's, some standard printers' typographic fonts still did not have a letter 'J ' even as recent as the early 1900's.
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IN AN ATTEMPT to date the introduction and adoption of new letter forms, it should be noted that the spellings of words used to vary considerably. Also different types of letters were used throughout the ages. At one stage runic symbols were used. In due course, Saxon and Latin letter forms were incorporated. It was probably not until mechanical printing came into use that some form of standardization of 'the English alphabet' began to emerge.
Even before printing, the English alphabet was very much influenced by European alphabets, with Latin gaining popularity as the main basis for upper and lowercase letter forms. This influence carried over into the letterpress stage of the alphabet's development. It is also worth noting that letter forms in handwriting styles can often be quite different from the 'types' used for mass-production printing purposes.
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ALTHOUGH W, U and J were the last three letters to be added to the English alphabet, they did not appear suddenly, but gradually, over a long period of time, as knowledge and usage of these new forms became more widespread. Certainly by the early 1900's most new printed materials show the full range of the 26 letters we have now. But it does not seem possible to identify a precise moment or date when each of these particular letters 'appeared' or became 'the norm.' In view of this, the dates indicated above are only rough guides.
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