The Ancient Greek Origins of Latin Alphabet

Greek inscription wrong Saint Peter’s Basilica successful Rome. Credit: Flickr / George Terezakis CC BY 2.0

The Latin alphabet is undoubtedly the world’s astir recognizable signifier of written language, whose past goes backmost successful clip to the eras of ancient Greek and Roman dominance of the full Western world.

In its modern form, with its galore variations and alterations, the Latin alphabet is officially utilized by an astonishing 131 sovereign nations, and it is besides a co-official publication signifier successful 12 different countries.

Even successful the countries which bash not usage it officially, astir of their radical not lone admit it, but they tin besides work it, chiefly owed to the planetary power of the English connection successful our time.

However, the nonstop origins of the Latin alphabet present utilized by billions of radical are comparatively unknown, and precise fewer radical are really alert that the Latin alphabet itself finds its roots successful an older signifier of Greek writing.

The Origins of the Latin Alphabet

It is wide accepted successful the linguistic assemblage that the Latin alphabet is simply a merchandise of a agelong and analyzable travel which yet has its roots backmost successful the hieroglyphic contented of past Egypt.

However, its astir evident and salient power derived from the Greek alphabet itself.
It was nary different than the Euboean saltation of the Greek alphabet, utilized connected the land of Euboea (Evia) successful Greece, which yet created what we present telephone the ”Western Greek alphabets.”

In turn, the occidental Greek alphabets shaped the Etruscan alphabet, the nonstop predecessor of the alphabet utilized by the Romans to constitute the Latin language.

The Euboean alphabet was utilized by Greeks who lived successful the cities of Chalkis and Eretria opening successful the aboriginal years of Greek antiquity.

The Greek Colony of Cumae and How it Shaped the Latin Alphabet

The Acropolis of Cumae arsenic seen from the little city. Photo credit: Wikimedia commons / AlexanderVanLoon CC BY-SA 3.0

The past Greeks of Chalkis were the archetypal to colonize the mainland of today’s Italy.

As aboriginal arsenic the 8th period BC, Chalkideans sailed to Italy and established the archetypal Greek colony connected the peninsula, the metropolis of Cumae (Κύμη).

In what is present an past tract adjacent the municipality of Cuma (whose sanction was derived from past Cumae) lies the concealed of the instauration of the alphabet which is presently utilized by astir of humankind.

Cumae was not lone the archetypal colony the Greek settlers established, but it besides became 1 of the astir vibrant and almighty successful the centuries earlier the Roman conquest.

The boundaries of Etruscan civilization. credit: wikimedia commons / NormanEinstein CC BY-SA 3.0

The Greeks of Cumae dispersed their Greek civilization passim Italy and introduced the Euboean alphabet, the 1 their ancestors were utilizing connected Euboea, Greece to the section people.

The Etruscans, whose civilization came into nonstop interaction and interrelation with the Greek settlers, were heavy influenced by Cumae and the remainder of the adjacent Greek settlements.

Thus, from astir 650 BC up until astir 100 BC, the Etruscans adopted and utilized the Euboean alphabet introduced to Italy by the Cumaean Greeks, to make a written signifier for their own, Etruscan language.

The meanings of astir Etruscan words are inactive chartless today, comprising 1 of the largest conundrums successful the satellite of linguistics. Perhaps, 1 day, a Rosetta Stone enabling researchers to decipher the meanings of the Etruscan vocabulary volition beryllium found. However, the letters they adopted successful signaling their connection successful penning are perfectly recognizable.

The Etruscan Alphabet

Credit: Public Domain

The alphabet adopted by the Etruscans was astir identical to Euboean Greek, which successful turn, was precise akin to the Greek alphabets utilized astatine that clip successful past Greece. However, determination were immoderate differences some successful presumption of phonetics and successful the signifier of letters.

By simplifying things a bit, we could accidental that the quality of the Euboean, and consequently the Etruscan alphabets, could beryllium described arsenic a substance of what we cognize contiguous arsenic the Greek and Latin alphabets.

The Etruscans, of course, added their ain elements, shaping the Euboean alphabet successful a mode that would suit their ain connection and frankincense creating the precursor of the alphabet the Romans would yet use.

For example, portion astir of the Greek alphabets utilized the missive ”Π” to picture the dependable of ”p,” the Etruscans wrote that missive successful a mode that was person to today’s signifier of ”P,” paving the mode for the enactment of what we cognize contiguous arsenic ”P” and ”p” successful English.

The aforesaid was existent of different past Greek letters, specified arsenic the missive sigma depicted arsenic ”Σ,” which was written by the Etruscans successful a mode that was person to today’s ”S” alternatively than the Greek ”Σ.”

The Latin Alphabet arsenic a Variation of the Etruscan

Following centuries of becoming much and much instrumental successful Italy’s taste development, the Etruscan alphabet became the ground of the Latin alphabet itself.

The Romans, on with their implicit conquest of the Italian peninsula, adopted the Etruscan alphabet arsenic a written signifier of their ain Latin language, which soon became the lingua franca of Italy, eclipsing the Etruscan connection and different dialects.
These different languages would yet go wholly extinct.

The Romans, of course, shaped the Etruscan alphabet successful a mode that would suit their ain needs. For this reason, they reshaped immoderate of their letters and introduced caller ones implicit the transition of clip portion abolishing others.

The Romans kept letters which primitively belonged to the Greek alphabet but were aboriginal abolished by the Greeks, specified arsenic the missive ”F,” which was primitively known arsenic ”digamma.”

The Romans did not hesitate to present caller letters to their alphabet, arsenic well, arsenic soon arsenic they were heavy influenced by the affluent civilization of Greece pursuing the Roman conquest of Greece.

Prominent examples of this power see the letters ”Y” and ”Z,” which did not beryllium successful the Latin alphabet until the Romans realized that they needed them to transliterate Greek words that their connection was adopting.

Not simply a saltation of Greek

It is evident that without the archetypal Greek colonies of Italy and their monolithic taste power successful the region, today’s written connection mightiness person been wholly different.

However, 1 indispensable ne'er comprehend the improvement of languages arsenic a static and unsocial process.

Linguistic influences, adaptations and alterations instrumentality centuries to make a wholly ”new product” successful the signifier of an alphabet oregon a language; thus, 1 cannot simply accidental that the Latin alphabet is simply a saltation of the Greek.

We should each carnivore successful caput that the Greek alphabet itself, a signifier of written substance that shaped Latin truthful profoundly, was itself thing much than a merchandise of the improvement of the Phoenician alphabet, which successful turn, finds its roots successful the hieroglyphics of past Egypt.

The travel of immoderate alphabet oregon connection is acold much analyzable than we could ever imagine, leaving america plentifulness of country for heavy technological probe which tin unveil the information down 1 of humanity’s astir basal needs, namely to talk and constitute to forge a transportation with others.