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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Letters

Double Us are seen but often not heard

Neon letters U collected from neon signs
When is a double U not a double U? Photograph: Karin Lau/Alamy

I’ve been following the recent correspondence on words with a double U with personal interest, as I have some skin in this game (Letters, 6, 7 and 11 May). I was born in Helsinki during the cold war, while my parents were posted to the British embassy in Moscow. As a tribute to the kindness and hospitality of the Finns, my parents gave me my middle name as a lifelong souvenir. Before I was three, it had elbowed aside my first name, and I’ve enjoyed the mixed blessings of having an almost unique name (for the UK, though it’s ever popular in Finland), but one that no one here can spell. The best rendering I’ve had is Twli, which could be Welsh.
(Madeleine) Tuuli Shipster
London

• I was once asked by a seven-year-old pupil in an ICT lesson: “Miss, how do you spell double U, double U, double U dot?”
Jane Matthews
Glossop, Derbyshire

• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com

• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters

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