Buzz
For over two centuries, the alphabet song, set to the melody of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,' has been a staple for learning the ABCs. However, English isn’t the sole language with an alphabet, and not all alphabets align with that tune. Explore these global songs designed to help learners master their ABCs.
1. Swedish
The Swedish alphabet closely resembles ours but includes three additional letters (å, ä, ö). Interestingly, the letter w was historically grouped with v by the Swedish Academy until 2006.
2. Turkish
The Turkish alphabet excludes q, w, and x but introduces six unique letters, resulting in a total of 29. This engaging song seamlessly incorporates all of them.
3. Croatian
With 30 letters, the Croatian alphabet is brought to life by the Bajka children’s choir, who perform it with remarkable speed.
4. Russian
The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters, but this lively tune from Russian Sesame Street makes memorizing them feel effortless.
5. Malay (Jawi alphabet)
Malay can be written using the Latin alphabet or Jawi, an Arabic-based script. In this charming rendition, a group of children sings the Jawi version of 'Alif Ba Ta.'
6. Thai
Thai script has a intricate connection to its spoken form. Most consonants have two written forms, representing distinct tones, alongside additional marks for vowels and tones. With 44 consonants to learn, each is paired with a word to aid memory. For example, the first letter is 'ko' as in kai (chicken), followed by 'kho' as in khai (egg), and so on, linking letters to words like bottle, water buffalo, person, bell, and snake.
7. Amharic
Amharic, Ethiopia's official language, uses a unique script where each symbol represents a consonant-vowel combination. These children are singing a tune to master the 34 characters of the first vowel series. Once these are learned, the remaining six vowel series become much easier to tackle.
