Æ and æ

Æ and æ are symbols, called ligatured letters named aesc or ash. Æ is the capital form in which A and E are combined while æ is the small form in which a and e are combined. These were used in Old English.

Æ represents a long sound of the capital letter A, generally occurs in the beginning of word, while æ represents a short vowel when within other places in a word and is pronounced as 'a' is pronounce in cat. The letter Æ or æ is now being replaced with AE or ae, eg Aesop or encyclopaedia.


However, æ is used in modern phonetic alphabets to represent the sound of 'a' as pronounced in cat.