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The Latin alphabet originated from the Phoenician alphabet, with changes made by the Etruscans in the 5th century BC. It spread across Europe and underwent changes until it reached its current form. Cursive writing and lowercase letters were introduced later, and some letters were added over time. Some experts suggest replacing certain letters with more phonetic alternatives.
Despite being one of the basic things we need in daily life, few of us rarely think about the Latin alphabet: where did it come from, how did it get to where it is now, who decided which letters to include, who invented it? The name of the Latin alphabet comes from the combination of the Greek words “alpha” and “beta”.
Early writing systems did not have an alphabet of their own, but were rather similar to Asian languages such as Chinese, where each symbol represents a word rather than a letter. These alphabets date back to 3500 BC, when the Sumerians and Egyptians invented a writing system that included hieroglyphs and wedge-shaped symbols. The first alphabet itself was invented by the Phoenicians around 1000 BC. This is now considered to be the origin of the Latin alphabet as we know it, although there were some notable differences. To begin with, the Phoenician alphabet had no vowels and was also relatively shorter at 22 letters. The Phoenician alphabet was based on phonetization.
The Latin alphabet as we know it originated with the Etruscans, in the Roman Republican era, around the 5th century BC. As the Roman Empire spread across Europe, so did the Latin alphabet, eventually reaching as far as Romania and England. Over the following centuries, changes were made to the Latin alphabet, until it reached the form it has today.
Cursive writing and lowercase letters didn’t exist until the Middle Ages, and many letters originally pulled double duty, representing more than one sound. The letter W was introduced in the 14th century; the letter J did not enter the Latin alphabet until 14; and the letter V did so only at the end of the 18th century. The Latin alphabet has remained constant ever since, although there are experts who suggest it could be improved by replacing some letters with other, more phonetic alternatives.
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