Alphabets and Writing
This entry, in fact, this entire encyclopedia, would be a very different object if there were no alphabet. Although there are nonalphabetic writing systems and there are ways to communicate other than through writing, an alphabet is one of the most powerful tools for the easy expression of a diverse range of ideas.
An alphabet facilitates a print culture, one in which permanent records can be maintained and people can communicate with others across time and space. Even as people surf the World Wide Web for information in diverse media, they visit websites that are filled with displays of alphabetic characters. The source codes for these sites are even written in programming languages that rely on alphabets.
What exactly is an alphabet? How did the first ones arise? What was it like to communicate prior to the invention of the alphabet? What are the differences between alphabets and other writing systems? How does the use of an alphabet relate to a print culture? Questions such as these have been explored for more than two thousand years and have led to heated debates, arduous archaeological expeditions, and massive treatises on the development of writing.
Development of the Alphabet
Although the details are the subject of active research and scholarly debate, there is a rough consensus on the general development of writing and the series of stages that were involved.
This is a free page. This page contains 201 words. This
article contains 2,885 words (approx. 10 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Alphabets and Writing Access Pass.
