The very earliest language systems became increasingly more complex. Pictographs developed and became more intricate and eventually evolved into the alphabet. The word "alphabet" comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. An alphabet can be defined as a set of symbols or characters that are used to represent simple sounds, syllables and words in the spoken language.
The Minoan or Cretan picture symbols developed around 2800 BC were possibly the forerunner for the Greek alphabet. An interesting artifact from the Minoan culture, the Phaistos Disk, was discovered in Crete. It contains what to be some sort of alphabet formed with typelike stamps that pressed each character into wet clay. This was the first hint of movable type used in the Western culture. The original inventors are still unknown. But it is believed that the Canannites, Hebrews, and Poenicians were somewhat of a source. Phoenicians were able to combine cuneiform, hieroglyphics and script.
Ras Shamra script was found on tablets of clay originating from about 1500 B.C. It contained 30 characters resembling cuneiform and also thought to represent simple consonants. There were no recognizable vowels.
The Aramaic alphabet was used in tribes in an area that is now Syria. This alphabet had 22 letters with consonant-type sounds written from right to left. Similar writings have been found in Afghanistan, Egypt, Greece, and India. This script developed a foundation for hundreds of others including modern Hebrew and Arabic. Both of these are still written right to left. The Aramaic script, which replaced Old Hebrew in the western Mediterranean area after the Babylonian exile, was influenced from Old Hebrew developed into the Square Hebrew alphabet.
After taking on the alphabet, the Greeks improved upon its beauty and usages. It is said that King Cadmus was who introduced the alphabet to the Greeks and Athens developed a version that became the standard throughout all of Greece. The Greeks were able to take the uneven Phoenician script and convert it to an art form. Initially they continued the Phoenician tradition of writing from right to left. This system evolved into the method, "boustrophedon", meaning to plow a field with an ox. Every other line would read in the opposite direction. By the second century A.D. the Greeks developed the style "uncials". This was a rounded way of writing which allowed the scribe to write quicker. Eventually they developed a better stylus from reeds cut into nibs and split allowing sufficient ink flow. In the Greek culture the alphabet managed to play a significant role in democracy. It was incorporated into voting, trials, documents, and public service. Alexander the Great introduced libraries to the culture, including one that contained hundreds of thousands scrolls.
As Rome rose into the greatest city on earth it adopted much of Greek literature, art, and religion. The Etruscans, a people of the Italian peninsula, introduced the Latin alphabet. The use of parchment later became a common practice especially with the rise of Christianity.
The Korean alphabet, Hangul, was developed by the korean monarch Sejong in 1446. It was an extremely scientific writing system. The Koreans used the complex Chinese for their written script. It was not written in a linear sequence but rather in letters combined within an imaginary rectangle to form syllabic blocks. The syllables were combined with at least one consonant and a vowel.
Overall the Alphabet was a system that brought democracy and literacy to all peoples. It is a great achievement for humanity. It brought communities together and managed to preserve memory for the future.
Most Interesting:
What I found most interesting about this chapter was the debate centered around the serifs in Roman alphabet history. Some consider serifs to be "clean-up" strokes performed after carving a letter. Some believe it was due to the short gesture made after inscribing. Either way it seems as if serifs were a necessary accident, and now are a staple in most typographies.
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