Why "VNIVERSITY"

The Tang Chi Ngong School of Chinese Entrance Lintel

Ever pass the entrance of the Tang Chi Ngong School of Chinese on Bonham Road and you might have noticed the unusual spelling of "UNIVERSITY".

On the lintel the "U" is inscribed as a "V". Surely, a most glaring of errors and unimaginable of a university; it has even received comments verging on indignation from members of the public regarding the mistake!

Yet, scratch beneath the surface and there is a story, a story of deliberateness. The "V" was purposely inscribed in such a fashion to add a touch of academic dignity by imitating the style in which Romans inscribed Latin letters in capitals on stone. For Roman stone masons two diagonal lines would have been easier to chisel than a "U" that would necessitate one continuous line, including the rounded bottom. In any case, this letter did not exist in the Latin alphabet and its sound was represented with a "V".

It must also be noted that the building was completed in the early 1930s, a time when the study of Latin still commanded great prestige and was a sign of erudition.

Throughout the Roman Empire in countries that came under the aegis of the Pax Romana you will find examples where a "U" has been inscribed as a "V".

大學寫錯字?

香港大學鄧志昂樓般含道入口的牌坊上，大學(University)一詞的英文串法錯誤，把U當V！港大歷史悠久，為何會弄錯這個簡單的英文字？

其實，把U當V是有它有趣的歷史典故。入口牌坊上所刻的是古老拼法，一般大楷英文的刻法會依照羅馬石的慣例，以V代U，推測是因為鑿刀雕刻V字底部兩條直線，較U字底部弧線容易。此外，在拉丁語中是沒有V音的，因此，V字可照U字發音。

除 U和V一例外， I和J亦是同樣情況。牌坊上的碑刻以I代替J，故此，凱撒大帝(JULIUS CAESAR)，在牌坊上便會刻成 IVLIVS CAESAR了。

References:

• Wikipedia
• answers.com
• Interflow published by HKU
• www.hku.hk/uid/background

Some other examples:

Another omnipresent example would have been the name "Augustus", as in Augustus Caesar, inscribed as "AVGVSTVS CAESAR".
A statue of Augustus Caesar, The National Museum of Rome with the use of the letter "V" (Photo courtesy of answers.com; link: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
Image:CaesarAugustus
PontiusMaximus.jpg).

You will find a "J" that has been rendered as an "I", as in JULIUS CAESAR, which would have appeared as "IVLIVS CAESAR" on inscriptions.
A page from the first published collection of Shakespeare's plays. Note that the spelling of "Julius" has been rendered as "IVLIVS", the Latin spelling of the name. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia; link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image: FirstFolioJulius.jpg).