
How the Alphabet Was Born from Hieroglyphs (2010) - Mz
http://members.bib-arch.org/publication.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=36&Issue=2&ArticleID=6
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jasode
Fyi, the animation showing evolution of Latin alphabet:
[http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~rfradkin/latin.html](http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~rfradkin/latin.html)

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Baeocystin
That was neat. Thanks for posting it.

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YeGoblynQueenne
Egyptian hieroglyphs included a group of 24 signs that were read phonetically,
representing single letters (specifically, consonants) matching the first
sound of the word symbolised by the pictogram (the "rebus" principle) [1].

In fact, most Egyptian hieroglyphs had multiple readings, the same sign
standing alternatively for a single sound (letter or syllable), a single word,
or some more or less broad concept. Other cultures also had similar systems,
or used syllabaries or partial alphabets (abjads [2] and abugidas [3]), or a
liberal mix of several systems.

In other words, the idea of alphabetic writing (representing atomic sounds
rather than entire words or phrases) did occur more than once. It's only a
very small hop from a syllabary to a full alphabet, anyway.

What is unique to the Proto-Sinaitic alphabet discussed in the OP then, is
probably the fact that it used the phonetic reading as its sole system,
probably for the reasons detailed in the OP: it was used by officially
"illiterate" people who didn't have the opportunity to learn (or use!) a more
complex script.

So, I guess, their big innovation was not phonetic writing per se, but the
fact that they distilled it down to the cheapest, dirtiest, fastest-to-learn
bits that could be used by people with very few resources.

________________

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transliteration_of_Ancient_Egy...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transliteration_of_Ancient_Egyptian#Uniliteral_signs)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abugida](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abugida)

[3] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abjad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abjad)

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adictator
Not sure what the author means by "THE alphabet". We have substantial evidence
now that the Vedas were written in 2500 BC or earlier, using Devanagari - an
advanced script / alphabet system used even today. So surely, "THE" alphabet
was invented much before that - somewhere around 3500 BC I would surmise.

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autocorr
The Vedas and the oldest, the Rig Veda, were composed as oral poetry and
memorized. We don't have the first evidence of writing in India until
inscriptions using the Brahmi script from the edicts of Ashoka around 300 BC.
Even then, it would be centuries before large bodies of spoken word such as
the Vedas and the Pali Canon were committed to writing.

Of course there's the the Indus Valley script, but theres no real evidence to
suggest that it was used to write significant and lengthy works. Especially
since the IVC collapse would have predated the migration of the Aryans. But
there actually doesn't need to be a common writing system, since we know for a
fact it originated independently in two places, the Sumerians and the Maya.
It's less clear cut (no ocean separating) but it's likely the Oracle Bone
script in China was independent too.

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adictator
Few people in this day & age believe in the "migration of the Aryans" theory!
I think it has been thoroughly debunked and has been recognized as a dishonest
attempt by Christian / British historians to distort history & show that
nothing original was ever developed in the Indian subcontinent.

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EGreg
The reason we cannot see these concepts in today's Hebrew letters is because
the modern Hebrew script has been adopted from Aramaic script used in Persia.
Most learned Jews were taken into captivity by Babylon, which was then
captured by Persia. And the schools which Jews established in Babylon thrived,
and most likely adopted the Persian script when writing.

If you want to see the original script, look at a Samaritan Pentateuch.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan_alphabet](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan_alphabet)

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empath75
Interesting that he thinks the people who invented the canaanite alphabet were
illiterate. There was at least one alphabet invented in the modern era by an
illiterate:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_syllabary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_syllabary)

(Although that someone who invents an alphabet can be considered to be
illiterate is interesting)

I also wonder how many of the people who adapted the Chinese hanzi to their
local languages were actually literate in Chinese.

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WalterBright
Ironically, we're reverting to hieroglyphs (icons and emoji).

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Stratoscope
My favorite example:

The Rosetta mission as told in emojis

[https://twitter.com/paulcoxon/status/781785896513314816](https://twitter.com/paulcoxon/status/781785896513314816)

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DiThi
Related: Animation about the history of writing (47 minutes)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdO3IP0Pro8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdO3IP0Pro8)

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dghughes
It makes sense symbols inspired by Egyptian hieroglyphics but use your own
pictures for objects you know of in your own language.

The lack of written vowels would also held simplify learning.

