Ahh Ehh Uhmm Y

There are 5 vowels. We all know it since pre-school. But what struck me was when my office colleague told me that the letter Y is a vowel.

Y is a vowel. Y is a vowel. Y is a vowel. Y is a vowel. I didn't know that! And it's a general knowledge that it is a consonant. So, the curious kid asked for Mr. Google's intervention.

"The letter Y was originally established as a vowel. In the standard English language, the letter Y is traditionally regarded as a consonant, but a survey of almost any English text will show that Y more commonly functions as a vowel." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y

"Sometimes, the letter y is a consonant, and other times it is a vowel. The rule for telling the two apart is simple: The letter y is a consonant when it is the first letter of a syllable that has more than one letter (i.e. yellow). If y is anywhere else in the syllable, it is a vowel. (i.e. sky)" - http://www.phonicsontheweb.com/y-roles.php

"The letter ‘Y’ is a vowel or a consonant! The letter Y can be used to represent different sounds in different words, and can therefore fit either definition. In ‘myth’ or ‘hymn’ it is clearly a vowel but on the other hand, in a word like ‘beyond’ there is an obstacle to the breath which can be heard between two vowels.

Whether the letter ‘Y’ is a vowel or a consonant is therefore rather an arbitrary decision. The letter is probably more often used as a vowel, but in this role is often interchangeable with the letter ‘I’. However, the consonant sound is not consistently represented in English spelling by any other letter, and perhaps for this reason ‘Y’ tends to traditionally be counted among the consonants." - http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutother/lettery?view=uk

Woot. Y is both a consonant and vowel but we usually use it as a vowel. And I just knew it. >_<