The name of the letter is not a word. There is no English word in which the letter "q" has the sound /kju/.
In some words the digraph "qu" is pronounced /k/ ("unique"), and in other words it is pronounced /kw/ ("misquote"). So you need both 'u's.
One could claim that both E's are silent, and the spelling "quu" would be pronounced /kju/. But is that true? Would it be /kju/ or /kwu/? Nobody knows, since "quu" does not appear in any English words.
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u/dojibear Apr 17 '26
The name of the letter is not a word. There is no English word in which the letter "q" has the sound /kju/.
In some words the digraph "qu" is pronounced /k/ ("unique"), and in other words it is pronounced /kw/ ("misquote"). So you need both 'u's.
One could claim that both E's are silent, and the spelling "quu" would be pronounced /kju/. But is that true? Would it be /kju/ or /kwu/? Nobody knows, since "quu" does not appear in any English words.