Anyone have an explanation for the way lowercase 'a’s are printed (look at it)? Who started it, and why is lowercase ‘a’ different when written by hand? You know, a circle with an angled line on the side. Why don’t typed fonts make it that way?
This is a total WAG, but I would guess that originally people did write it by hand the way that it appears typed (actually I know some people who still write it that way even today) But over the years people just got lazy and lopped off the the hook at the top, or they got sloppy and the hook merged with the loop (does that make sense?) and then all that’s left is the loop with the line at the side.
If I’m not mistaken, I believe that in the past children were taught to make the a just the way it appears in roman typeface. The way they teach it now, it’s really more like an italic letter than a roman one. I wasn’t taught that way in grammar school, but I did start printing it roman-style about the 10th grade. I picked it up from a math teacher who said the italic-style could too easily be mistaken for a d or an o. I also picked up putting a sort of dash through my 7s and Zs from the same teacher.
My mother was taught to print old-fashioned gs. They looked sort of like a cursive o with a squiggly line below it. You’ll see it on some typewriters.
Well, the lowercase a without the line on top probably originates from the cursive a, which probably dropped that line to make it easier to write continuously (look at what happens to cursive f’s and n’s for instance).
Perhaps it just became more common to write the a that way in block script as well.
And maybe I can throw a few more perhaps and probably’s in here just for good measure.
I believe that originates with the European style for writing numbers. The European 1 is generally written like the American 7, so the line through the middle is necessary to distinguish the 7 from the 1.
(Completely from memory, since all my exemplar books are at home.)
Lowercase ‘a’ (in printing) bears resemblance to most calligraphed 'a’s, most notably in “Uncial” and “Carolingian Miniscule” styles. “Gothic/Blackletter/Old English” calligraphy continued this hook at the top, although the body of the letter itself became more vertical (sharper corners) rather than rounded. IIRC, the change to the ‘circle and straight line’ ‘a’ (without the hook at the top) started somewhere around when “Copperplate” calligraphy - the really swashy, loopy letters, like you see on many wedding invitations - came into vogue around the late 1600’s/early1700’s.
Also, some type fonts do use the ‘circle and straight line’ ‘a’. (Wishing my “Big Book o’ Typefonts” was here right now.)
YAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! What I wouldn’t do for a scanner right now! It’s easier to show than describe!!! Give me a couple hours and I’ll find some examples.
screech-owl-- You a font freak, too? 
If you can’t get your hands on a scanner, you can always head over to Buy, download typography fonts | Adobe Type or http://www.eyewire.com/type and search there for example typefaces. The eyewire site has a link on the left side to the TypeViewer, which allows you to select and view fonts from about six major foundries’ libraries. It’s pretty neat.
Screech-owl is right-- most of our lower case letters some from Carolingian minuscle (really the first “lower-case” characters). which developed out of Roman everyday-use cursive (one of the reforms of Charlemagne’s anal-retentive rule (Thank God)). The “a” in it does have that hook at the top. I’m not sure when Blackletter/Fraktur developed, but it has it too. I think “Italic” was only developed in the 1400’s, perhaps (Aldus Manutius?), and the ‘“o” with a tail’ came in with that system (verification?), although I think the non-italic “regular” “italian” modern typeface (not Fraktur, but the one that looked most like Caroling. minusc.) DID have the hook at the top as well.
…Still working on it, but nice to hear I’m accurate so far.
Quick overview and summary of major calligraphic styles from about the 6th Century onward.
Starting with the British Isles around 6th Century -
- Uncial - 3rd to 6th Century - brought to England from Rome by St. Augustine - broad diagonal stroke with delicate hairline - effectively a hook over the ‘a’ (body of the letter). (developed from the Roman Square Capitals - the capital ‘A’ looked more like a Greek lambda.
- Artifical Uncial - after 680 to about the 10th Century - more serifed, still a hook over the ‘a’.
- Insular Majuscule (Book of Kells) and Insular Miniscule - [Majuscule for more formal writings, Miniscule for translations and non-acred texts] - again 5th/6th Century (I’m finding discrepancies in different books) to about the 10th Century (stil in the British Isle) No hook over the ‘a’.
- Luxeuil Miniscule - 7th and 8th Centuries - one of the main reasons for the reform of writing by Charlemagne - wonderful to look at, near impossible to read - full of ligatures (letters connected together) and lookin like an attempt to draw a Medieval EKG strip or a Richter Scale printout. Couldn’t even tell if it was a hooked or non-hooked ‘a’.
- Carolingian Miniscule - 8th to 12th Century - attempt by Charlemagne to reform scripts with the help of the monk Alcuin - rounded, cursive hand and easily readable (by those who could), and reverted to the hooked ‘a’.
- Textura Quadrata (‘Gothic’)- noncursive and angular - around early 13th century - hook over the ‘a’.
- Textura Prescius - same as Quadrata, but with the ‘feet cut off’ (squared ends of the minims and descenders) - still with the hook over the ‘a’.
- Bastard Secretary (I’m not making that up!) - (English) faster written and more cursive form of Textura - used on less formal documents - around the 13th Century - still with the hook over the ‘a’.
- Batarde - end of the 13th Century til mid-16th Century - (French) more formalized version of Bastard Secretary - re-appearance of the non-hooked ‘a’!!!
- Fraktur & Schwabacher (German Blackletter) - developed from mixture of German cursive scripts and Textura Quadrata - from about 1400’s til mid-20th Century -also utilized the non-hooked ‘a’.
Now on to Italy.
Pretty much followed the above timeline, but less emphasis on the Gothic/Blackletter - quickly developed into…
- Rotunda - (Italy) from 10th to 13th Century - rounded blackletter, still had the hooked ‘a’.
- Humanist miniscule - (Italy) rediscovery of Carolingian Miniscule, but with a lighter hand (letters are much thinner and recognizable as precursor to modern typesetting, around 1300’s - still using the hooked ‘a’.
- Italic script, excuse me, Italic script (also called Chancery Cursive, Cancellaresca Corsiva and Littera di Brevi) was developed in 1420 by Niccolo Niccoli as a faster version of Humanist Miniscule [which also had the little hook over the ‘a’]. Around 1440, Italic script had been adopted as the official hand of the Papal Chancery. No hook over the ‘a’.
- Copperplate (so named after an instruction manual for the hand was engraved on sheets of copper) developed from Italic later, around the late 1500’s. Very formal script, popular among the upper classes. Development of ‘o’ with the tail - most of the letters were connected. Also no hook over the ‘a’.
Like I said, a quick overview, and I’ve skipped a lot, but I am happy I was fairly close the first time around
Niccolo Niccoli, funiculi, funicula
{sorry, couldn’t resist} - cracks me up.
I’m glad you verified the vague ideas I had to. Win-win. Yay!
[whine]
My fingers hurt. Calligraphy is easier than typing. 
[/whine]