Y—why y?
Y (1): FORM factors–
Y (2): SYMBOLIC functions–
Y (3): SOUND meanings–
Y (1): FORM factors–
Y’s form represents both:
# CONFLUENCE (coming together) & BRANCHING (spreading, making connections)
# FORKING (this way or that, dividing) & MERGING (joining ways, uniting)
# CHANNEL (of transmission) & MEDIUM (of exchange)
As clarified going forward, these more or less polar pairs feature key functions associated with the MIND.
Y (2): SYMBOLIC functions–
While Y’s main symbolic use is simply as a letter in various languages, this letter can also represent levels of meaning beyond the visual translation of what’s spoken. Its use as a whole word in Spanish, for example, both simply represents the sound (pronounced as if long ee) and means and (“&”).
In a similar vein, a Y with two strokes (¥) can represent the Japanese Yen &/or Chinese Yuan (however locally pronounced), while plain Y can stand for the chemical element Yttrium (atomic number 39).
The letter y takes on additional levels of abstract meaning as a variable in math, for example, in algebra, various kinds of equations & graphs, & other functions only experts may fathom. [“A sample mean is typically denoted ȳ (read ‘y-bar’). It is calculated from a sample y1, y2, … , yn of values of Y by the familiar formula ȳ = (y1+ y2+ … + yn)/n. The population mean µ and a sample mean ȳ are usually not the same, though confusing them is a common mistake.”]
Other culturally transmitted “meanings” of Y/ y with arguably “deeper” significance can be found in even the most cursory web search, as per the following samples.
# The letter Y is considered a symbol of unity, balance in the choice between two paths. It is also seen as a representation of. the crossroads of life, where we are faced with decisions.
# The letter Y, in antiquity, often represented a “bivium” (a fork in the road); a point in life where we have to make a vital decision. Even Pythagoras used it to represent a choice in paths between virtue and vice.
# The letter Y symbolizes inner wisdom, contemplation, and meditation. It also carries symbolic meanings in numerology, mythology, religion, literature, and art. In the the representation of the TAO, i.e, “Diagram of the Great Ultimate,” the symbolic Yin is shown in black with Yang in white…. (Each contains a seed-eye of the other, however, as they dynamically turn into each other at times.)
# In the Jewish mystical tradition, Yod represents a mere dot, a divine point of energy. Since Yod is used to form all the other letters, and since God uses the letters as the building blocks of creation, Yod indicates God’s omnipresence. In fact, the word יוֹד (yod) itself is said to depict the geometry of creation.
# In the beginning was the word, & the word was Y’od, or Y for short–say followers of the Y’aha Wei Way…
y(3): representing SOUNDS–
y’ah yay lye lay dry fly sly dye key maybe baby doily lyk myth yuk…
The letter Y (y) in American English is most directly associated with
4 sounds: 3 vowels & 1 consonant (& some with features of each), e.g.,
CONSONANTS (yes, yam, yodel, beyond…) & VOWELS (baby, fly, myth…).
Y vowels can sound like a long i (my); long e (baby); or short i (myth/ gym/ acrylic).
Note that each of the following groups holds examples of all 3 Y main vowel sounds:
silly sly syllables; cry acrylic jelly; myths fly freely; psychology of the gymnasium.
In words like yummy, yam, you, young, youth, yonder, beyond & crayons, on the other hand, the y’s sounds are usually considered consonants…. This only scratches the surface of the complete y-sound universe, however, as letter-sounds can be affected in numerous ways by many factors, most notably the letter-sounds that come before & after. Effects work in both directions–on & by the y’s. Adding a y to Brad changes the a to Brady, for example, while the y in Hoyle turns the oh-sound of HOLE to the oy of HOYLE.
Aside from its effect on the o, is the y sound of Hoyle then a consonant, vowel or some combination? (I hear shades of the consonant y’, along with long e & short i, as with Boyle, loyal, & royal.) Or is the y itself silent, not really sounded at all beyond its effect on the o? Most interesting (& least noted) are the more or less SILENT Y’s, often with an inability to distinguish between silent use only affecting other vowels & use in the vowel/consonant borderlands (as in Hoyle, where you may or may not hear a yil-sound).
There are many cases in which the y isn’t specifically sounded by itself, yet makes a huge change on the sound of a vowel nearby. Does the y itself have a sound when it turns the a of ba into that of bay? And is the y in beyond always sounded like a consonant (y’) or does the fact that be & ond can sound the same without it make it actually silent? (What other silent y’s can you find?)
Ultimately, more or less all letters represent a constellation of possible variant sounds, including silence, whether affecting other sounds (the y in bay) or not (the b in lamb & possibly the y in beyond or crayon). The Y/y‘s offer particularly clear examples of unpredictable shifts, non-computational overlaps & case-specific entanglements, few, if any, likely given their due in conventional phonetics.
Theoretical physicists familiar with the dynamics of quantum wave probability fields may find some strong correlations with how we actually seem to propagate & process language…. Indeed, all three obvious dimensions of the letter-symbol Y (y) discussed here–form factors, symbolic uses, & sound effects–exhibit what can be considered quantum features, as might be expected by those who recognize the essentially mindful nature of language. (In short, that’s a start on Why Y?)