Wooo Hooo

[GuavaHalf]

Why is who 'hoo' not 'woo' or why is why 'wye' not 'hi'?

[Quizmonster]

In Old English, 'who' was 'hwa'. A similar sound existed in Scotland for a long time after - indeed, there are many Scots who still pronounce it thus. You see it, with the spelling slightly modified, in the old song: "Scots wha ha'e wi' Wallace bled". As regards the modern English proninciation, that is simply one of the multitude of sound-changes that have affected language over time...hence, the 'oo' effect.

In Old English, 'why' was 'hwi'. Even in the Old Indo-European language, it was 'chwi', with the 'ch' as in Johann Sebastian Bach. Again the sound-change is just another of the endless variations that have occurred over time.