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Alphabet Evolution

The document compares the evolution of major alphabets from their origins in proto-Sinaitic scripts. It presents a comparative table showing the development over time of each letter's form, phonetic value, and meaning from early Semitic scripts like Ugaritic and South Arabian to later alphabets like Phoenician, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The table traces the progression of letters from their proto-Sinaitic forms beginning around the 15th century BC to the various alphabets that emerged across the region over subsequent centuries.

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Daniel Lima
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589 views

Alphabet Evolution

The document compares the evolution of major alphabets from their origins in proto-Sinaitic scripts. It presents a comparative table showing the development over time of each letter's form, phonetic value, and meaning from early Semitic scripts like Ugaritic and South Arabian to later alphabets like Phoenician, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The table traces the progression of letters from their proto-Sinaitic forms beginning around the 15th century BC to the various alphabets that emerged across the region over subsequent centuries.

Uploaded by

Daniel Lima
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Evolution of the Alphabet

Comparative Table of Major Semitic and Western Alphabets


Based on Finn Rasmussens theory on the origin of the alphabet






Day
Lunar
Phases
Ugaritic
13c BC
Phon-
etic
Value
Letter
Meaning
South
Arabian
9c BC
Arabic
Proto-
Sinaitic
15c BC
Proto-
Sinaitic
13c BC
Phoe-
nician
10c BC
Hebrew Greek Latin
1
a [] ox
a A a a A
2
b [b] house
b b b b B
3
g [g] crescent
g g g g CG
4
X [x] scepter
x
5
9 d [d] fuel
d d d d D
6
H [h] Howler
h h H h E
7
w [w] praise
w w W w YV
8
1 z [z] Pealer
z z Z z Z
9
6 [] plow
6 X x H FH
10
\ 5 [t] soil
5 % C J T
11
! y [j] hands
y y y y I
12
' k [k] hollow
k kK kK K K
13
' 1 [] shine
1
14
' l [l] flame
l l L l L
15
' m [m] water
m m m m M
16
' 9 [] sprinkle
9
17
' n [n] snake
n n n n N
18
' 0 [] brightness
0
19
' S [s] serving
s s s s
20
o [] Source
o p { o O
21
@ p [p] proclaim
p P p p P
22
4 [s] righteous
c
23
q [k] burial
q q q q Q
24
M r [r] first
r r rR r R
25
7 [] breast
7 v vf S S
26
J [] youth
j
27
T [t] turn
t t T tx T
28
E [e] vigorous

29
U [u] light

30
3 [] moon
3

[]
4

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