Why do so many modern books use u instead of v in the lower case?
The Romans wrote in capital letters and used the letters I and V.
In the eight century lower case letters were introduced.
The letter U was not introduced until the tenth century.
The letter J was introduced in the seventeenth century.
Since the excuse is often given that I and U are used for both
consonant I (J) and U (V) as well as vowel I and U because
this is what the Romans used.
As a matter of fact the Romans used I and V and they wrote all
in capitals. No one suggests that we write all in capitals so if our
writing is how authetic why not used the system that used to be
in place - thereby making reading and understanding Latin
much easier.
Why not continue to use I and U for the vowel form and J and V for the consonant form of these letters. (Especially when we are using the wrong form of the letter V if we are trying to write as the Romans did)?
Even the Romans attempted to find new letters in order to distinguish
the consonant forms of I and V from the vowels. For example, the emperor Claudius attempted to use an inverted Digamma to distinguish the consonant V from the vowel. Claudius also attempted to introduce a letter that would distinguish Vowel I apparently from a consonant form of the same letter. This letter was similiar to the following: l-
If the Romans themselves made an attempt to distinguish these letters
I think it only makes sense to continue to use J for consonant I and the letter V for consonant u. On the other hand, If we are truly going to write as the Romans did we need to stop deceiving ourselves and
start using I and V and use only capital letters.