The history of the alphabet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The history of the alphabet - Essay Example The Latin alphabets are regarded as the most widely used alphabets of the world. These alphabets are derived from the Greek that provided the concept of consonants and vowels (Stephen, p98) The Greek alphabets are rooted from the Phoenician alphabets that basically donate a system that proposed the use of symbols for every consonant. It implies that all the alphabets used in the present world have their roots deeply embedded in to the Phoenician alphabets (Joseph, p65). There are two main scripts that provide the hints for the history of alphabets. These scripts were created somewhere before the end of the fourth millennium BCE known as Mesopotamian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs. These scripts provide the base for the production of Phoenician alphabets and were widely used in the Middle East region. Many of the languages used in the regions are developed from the based provided by the Phoenician alphabets and the two mentioned scripts. The set of 22 hieroglyphs was created by th e ancient Egyptians in 2700 BCE. These hieroglyphs basically represent the individual consonants of their language. In addition to the consonant, the 23rd hieroglyph presented the concept of word initial or word final vowel for the first time (Stephen, p98).