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Other languages
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In most languages that use the Latin alphabet, denotes an open unrounded vowel, such as , , or . An exception is Saanich, in which (and the glyph Á) stands for a close-mid front unrounded vowel .
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Other systems
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In phonetic and phonemic notation:
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in the International Phonetic Alphabet, is used for the open front unrounded vowel, is used for the open central unrounded vowel, and is used for the open back unrounded vowel.
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in X-SAMPA, is used for the open front unrounded vowel and is used for the open back unrounded vowel.
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Other uses
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In algebra, the letter a along with various other letters of the alphabet is often used to denote a variable, with various conventional meanings in different areas of mathematics. Moreover, in 1637, René Descartes "invented the convention of representing unknowns in equations by x, y, and z, and knowns by a, b, and c", and this convention is still often followed, especially in elementary algebra.
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In geometry, capital A, B, C etc. are used to denote segments, lines, rays, etc. A capital A is also typically used as one of the letters to represent an angle in a triangle, the lowercase a representing the side opposite angle A.
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"A" is often used to denote something or someone of a better or more prestigious quality or status: A-, A or A+, the best grade that can be assigned by teachers for students' schoolwork; "A grade" for clean restaurants; A-list celebrities, etc. Such associations can have a motivating effect, as exposure to the letter A has been found to improve performance, when compared with other letters.
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"A" is used as a prefix on some words, such as asymmetry, to mean "not" or "without" (from Greek).
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In English grammar, "a", and its variant "an", is an indefinite article, used to introduce noun phrases.
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Finally, the letter A is used to denote size, as in a narrow size shoe, or a small cup size in a brassiere.
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Related characters
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Descendants and related characters in the Latin alphabet
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Æ æ : Latin AE ligature
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A with diacritics: Å å Ǻ ǻ Ḁ ḁ ẚ Ă ă Ặ ặ Ắ ắ Ằ ằ Ẳ ẳ Ẵ ẵ Ȃ ȃ Â â Ậ ậ Ấ ấ Ầ ầ Ẫ ẫ Ẩ ẩ Ả ả Ǎ ǎ Ⱥ ⱥ Ȧ ȧ Ǡ ǡ Ạ ạ Ä ä Ǟ ǟ À à Ȁ ȁ Á á Ā ā Ā̀ ā̀ Ã ã Ą ą Ą́ ą́ Ą̃ ą̃ A̲ a̲ ᶏ
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Phonetic alphabet symbols related to A (the International Phonetic Alphabet only uses lowercase, but uppercase forms are used in some other writing systems):
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Ɑ ɑ : Latin letter alpha / script A, which represents an open back unrounded vowel in the IPA
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ᶐ : Latin small letter alpha with retroflex hook
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Ɐ ɐ : Turned A, which represents a near-open central vowel in the IPA
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Λ ʌ : Turned V (also called a wedge, a caret, or a hat), which represents an open-mid back unrounded vowel in the IPA
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Ɒ ɒ : Turned alpha / script A, which represents an open back rounded vowel in the IPA
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ᶛ : Modifier letter small turned alpha
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ᴀ : Small capital A, an obsolete or non-standard symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet used to represent various sounds (mainly open vowels)
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A a ᵄ : Modifier letters are used in the Uralic Phonetic Alphabet (UPA) (sometimes encoded with Unicode subscripts and superscripts)
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a : Subscript small a is used in Indo-European studies
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ꬱ : Small letter a reversed-schwa is used in the Teuthonista phonetic transcription system
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Ꞻ ꞻ : Glottal A, used in the transliteration of Ugaritic
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Derived signs, symbols and abbreviations
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ª : an ordinal indicator
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Å : Ångström sign
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∀ : a turned capital letter A, used in predicate logic to specify universal quantification ("for all")
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@ : At sign
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₳ : Argentine austral
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Ancestors and siblings in other alphabets
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𐤀 : Semitic letter Aleph, from which the following symbols originally derive
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Α α : Greek letter Alpha, from which the following letters derive
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А а : Cyrillic letter A
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: Coptic letter Alpha
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𐌀 : Old Italic A, which is the ancestor of modern Latin A
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: Runic letter ansuz, which probably derives from old Italic A
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: Gothic letter aza/asks
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Ա ա : Armenian letter Ayb
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Computing codes
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1
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Other representations
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Notes
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Footnotes
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References
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External links
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History of the Alphabet
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ISO basic Latin letters
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Vowel letters
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Alabama () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered by Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south; and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states. With a total of of inland waterways, Alabama has among the most of any state.
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Alabama is nicknamed the Yellowhammer State, after the state bird. Alabama is also known as the "Heart of Dixie" and the "Cotton State". The state tree is the longleaf pine, and the state flower is the camellia. Alabama's capital is Montgomery, and its largest city by population and area is Huntsville. Its oldest city is Mobile, founded by French colonists in 1702 as the capital of French Louisiana. Greater Birmingham is Alabama's largest metropolitan area and its economic center.
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Originally home to many native tribes, present-day Alabama was a Spanish territory beginning in the sixteenth century until the French acquired it in the early eighteenth century. The British won the territory in 1763 until losing it in the American Revolutionary War. Spain held Mobile as part of Spanish West Florida until 1813. In December 1819, Alabama was recognized as a state. During the antebellum period, Alabama was a major producer of cotton, and widely used African American slave labor. In 1861, the state seceded from the United States to become part of the Confederate States of America, with Montgomery acting as its first capital, and rejoined the Union in 1868. Following the American Civil War, Alabama would suffer decades of economic hardship, in part due to agriculture and a few cash crops being the main driver of the states economy. Similar to other former slave states, Alabamian legislators employed Jim Crow laws to disenfranchise and discriminate against African Americans from the late 19th century up until the 1960s.
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In the early 20th century, despite the growth of major industries and urban centers, white rural interests dominated the state legislature through the mid-20th century. During this time, urban interests and African Americans were markedly under-represented. High-profile events such as the Selma to Montgomery march made the state a major focal point of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. During and after World War II, Alabama grew as the state's economy diversified with new industries. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville would help Alabama's economic growth in the mid-to-late 20th century, by developing an aerospace industry. Alabama's economy in the 21st century is based on automotive, finance, tourism, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology.
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The state's geography is diverse, with the north dominated by the mountainous Tennessee Valley and the south by Mobile Bay, a historically significant port. Politically, as part of the Deep South, Alabama is predominantly a conservative state, and culturally is known for its Southern culture. Within Alabama, American football, particularly at the college level at schools such as the University of Alabama, Auburn University, Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Troy University, the University of South Alabama, and Jacksonville State University, play a major part of the state's culture.
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Etymology
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The European-American naming of the Alabama River and state was derived from the Alabama people, a Muskogean-speaking tribe whose members lived just below the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers on the upper reaches of the river. In the Alabama language, the word for a person of Alabama lineage is (or variously or in different dialects; the plural form is ). The suggestion that "Alabama" was borrowed from the Choctaw language is unlikely. The word's spelling varies significantly among historical sources. The first usage appears in three accounts of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540: Garcilaso de la Vega used , while the Knight of Elvas and Rodrigo Ranjel wrote Alibamu and Limamu, respectively, in transliterations of the term. As early as 1702, the French called the tribe the , with French maps identifying the river as . Other spellings of the name have included Alibamu, Alabamo, Albama, Alebamon, Alibama, Alibamou, Alabamu, Allibamou. and possibly Alabahmu. The use of state names derived from Native American languages is common in the U.S.; an estimated 27 states have names of Native American origin.
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Sources disagree on the word's meaning. Some scholars suggest the word comes from the Choctaw (meaning 'plants' or 'weeds') and (meaning 'to cut', 'to trim', or 'to gather'). The meaning may have been 'clearers of the thicket' or 'herb gatherers', referring to clearing land for cultivation or collecting medicinal plants. The state has numerous place names of Native American origin. However, there are no correspondingly similar words in the Alabama language.
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An 1842 article in the Jacksonville Republican proposed it meant 'Here We Rest'. This notion was popularized in the 1850s through the writings of Alexander Beaufort Meek. Experts in the Muskogean languages have not found any evidence to support such a translation.
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History
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Pre-European settlement
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Indigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in the area for thousands of years before the advent of European colonization. Trade with the northeastern tribes by the Ohio River began during the Burial Mound Period (1000BCE700CE) and continued until European contact.
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