# Hvnting Bvilding, Hvh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141 "2005-05-02T22:14:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/1 "2005-05-02T22:14:20Z")
Why is it that on some buildings the “U” in the engraving on the outside wall is replaced by a “V”? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/2 "2005-05-02T22:17:03Z")
On stone tablets back in the day it was easier to chisel out a V than a U. Today it’s just tradition. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/3 "2005-05-02T22:24:32Z")
The Romans didn’t have seperate letters for “U” and “V.” That’s why Latin mottoes on buildings have "V"s instead of "U"s. Later architects just copied the look. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/4 "2005-05-02T22:33:38Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The Romans didn’t have seperate letters for “U” and “V.” That’s why Latin mottoes on buildings have "V"s instead of "U"s. Later architects just copied the look. Interesting. How was that letter pronounced? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/5 "2005-05-02T22:48:36Z")
IIRC, U was the letter for both. My Latin pronunciation is abysmal, but OO comes close, I think. Think Julio Eglasias. I’m sure someone with a better knowledge of Latin will be along shortly. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/6 "2005-05-02T22:51:52Z")
Some older English books/pamphlets use a “v” instead of a “u.” The first thing that comes to mind are the bills of health (I think that’s what they were called) the English government issued in the 1600s - they kept track of all of the deaths during the year and presented them in a column format. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/7 "2005-05-02T22:53:30Z")
If it’s a question of following tradition, and not because it’s easier to carve out a “v”, why don’t many of these buildings substitute “i” for “j” in their engravings? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/8 "2005-05-02T22:59:24Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > IIRC, U was the letter for both. My Latin pronunciation is abysmal, but OO comes close, I think. Think Julio Eglasias. I’m sure someone with a better knowledge of Latin will be along shortly. 😃 Pronunciation, not letter. Perview is my friend… As for the I/J question…I’ve seen some that do. Not many, though. Anybody know the timeframe for each letter split? ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/9 "2005-05-02T23:16:48Z")
ivft deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/10 "2005-05-02T23:59:00Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Think Julio Eglasias. No, please don’t. Not only is Julio Iglesias rather unpleasant to think about, it’s a wholly different sound. V in Latin could be either a consonant or a vowel. As a vowel, it was just /u/, like in “food”. As a consonant, it was pronounced like /w/ (“witch”) in classical times, and by around 200 A.D. or so became the /v/ sound we know and love. So IVLIVS CAESAR’s famous line, “Veni, vidi, vici” would be pronounced something like “wenny widdy weaky”. In Roman times, K was rarely used, W didn’t exist, and the Roman I birthed J later on, and V fathered U at a later date as well. Not only that, but they only had capital letters, which led to a great deal of strife; when people wrote letters to one another, everyone assumed everyone else was shouting and got correspondingly pissed off. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/11 "2005-05-03T00:37:44Z")
That’s also why W is called “double-U” instead of “double V”. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/12 "2005-05-03T00:43:03Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > “wenny widdy weaky” ran through the town… (That and _Life of Brian_ has ruined Latin for me forever. :D) ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/13 "2005-05-03T00:48:23Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > In Roman times, K was rarely used, W didn’t exist, and the Roman I birthed J later on, and V fathered U at a later date as well. So, how is IVLIVS pronounced, then? What did Caesar’s buddies in the Roman Senate call him? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/14 "2005-05-03T00:51:21Z")
Pokey. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/15 "2005-05-03T00:51:37Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > That’s also why W is called “double-U” instead of “double V”. In English it’s called “double-U”. Not so in plenty of other languages. > [@Diceman](#): > > So, how is IVLIVS pronounced, then? I’m no expert, but according to what I’ve read, it would be YOO-lee-us (the last syllable having the same vowel as “book” or “soot”.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/16 "2005-05-03T02:24:03Z")
> [@](#): > > So, how is IVLIVS pronounced, then? What did Caesar’s buddies in the Roman Senate call him? And to answer the second question, they would have called him Gaius. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/17 "2005-05-03T07:24:15Z")
The initials “INRI” posted above Jesus in depictions of the cruxifiction stand for _Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm_, or Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/18 "2005-05-03T14:09:14Z")
When I was younger and took a trip to New York, I remember walking around going, “The American Miv-sevvum of Nat-vee-ral History” and thinking it was real funny. By “younger”, I mean I was like 30. And from “History of the World”. . .“NUTS FOR SALE. EN VEE TEE ESS: NUTS. NUTS FOR SALE.” ---
**Author:** ![Gaius.Cornelius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b487fb/32.png) [@Gaius.Cornelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaius.Cornelius)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/19 "2005-05-03T16:03:13Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > So, how is IVLIVS pronounced, then? What did Caesar’s buddies in the Roman Senate call him? I am no expert, but as far as I know, Caesar’s name is pronounced something like: “YooLeeUs KaiSar” ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141/20 "2005-05-03T16:05:05Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > The initials “INRI” posted above Jesus in depictions of the cruxifiction stand for _Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm_, or Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Not _I’m Nailed Right In_? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hvnting-bvilding-hvh/302141.md?page=2)