Introduction: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, X, Y, Z. One of the very first things I remember learning in my elementary education. Frequently thought to be one of the more complicated languages to learn due to the enormous amount of inconsistencies; this should be no surprise because it developed over time from several different languages and centuries. What defines an alphabet? Just where exactly did these letters come from? How did the first alphabet become the modern alphabet we have today?
Body:
A. Merriam-Webster defines an alphabet as “a system of signs or signals that serve as equivalents for letters”.
B. One of the earliest alphabets was created by the Egyptians known as hieroglyphics.
C. Hieroglyphics were essentially pictures or symbols that represented words or letters.
1.…show more content… They contained about 1,000 different characters.
2. “The earliest evidence of an Egyptian hieroglyphic system is believed to be from about 3300 or 3200 BC, and the Egyptians used hieroglyphs for the next 3,500 years” (History World). II. Next came the Phoenician alphabet in the 15th century.
A. This form of writing changed from pictures and symbols to a phonetic system of sounds to create a word.
B. The Phoenician alphabet, like others after it, did not contain vowels. The vowels in the sentence where automatically understood. III. It wasn’t until the 8th century when the Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet that vowels were added. A. The Greek alphabet had 24 letters in it. 1. The alphabet gets its name from the first two letters in the Greek system, alpha and beta.
2. “According to an article in the British Council, more than 150,000 words of English are derived from Greek words. These include technical and scientific terms. Words that starts with 'ph-' are usually of Greek origin, for example: philosophy, physical, photo, phrase, philanthropy” (Martha
