Early Alphabets
Visual language systems
1
Hieroglyphics
12
The Phoenician Alphabet 20
The Greek Alphabet
26
The Latin Alphabet
34
Summary
47
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / O verv i e w
i i / x lv i i
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S
Visual language systems
CIRCA 3,000 BCE
Several thousand years of proto-alphabetic exploration
resulted in a wealth of written variety but also created
a number of usability issues.
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G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / V i s u al L ang u age S yste m s
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CIRCA 3,000 BCE
Visual language
systems
• Disparate and hard to learn
• Localized
• Lacked structure
• Functioned differently
• Rebuses, ideographs, logograms,
and syllabaries
A S A M P L E O F E A R LY W R I T T E N L A N G U A G E S Y S T E M S E XI S T I N G C I R C A 3 , 0 0 0 B C E
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / V i s u al L ang u age S yste m s
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CIRCA 3,000 BCE
Pictographic
systems
• Image-based communication
• Derived from petroglyphs
• Reliance on cultural knowledge
• Limited use case
• 1 character = 1 word
• Required many characters
P E T R O G LY P H I C P I C T O G R A M S A N D I D E O G R A P H S · C I R C A 2 0 0 B C E · U TA H , U N I T E D S TA T E S
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / V i s u al L ang u age S yste m s
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CIRCA 3,000 BCE
Rebus systems
• Phonetic expression
• Required heavy understanding
of spoken language
• Extremely limited use case
H I E R O G LY P H I C S R E P R E S E N T I N G T H E R E B U S P R I N C I P A L · B E E & L E A F · S E A & S U N · B E L I E F A N D S E A S O N
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / V i s u al L ang u age S yste m s
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CIRCA 3,000 BCE
Logographic systems
• Reliance on cultural knowledge
• Limited use case
• 1 character = 1 word
• Required many characters
• Not useful outside originating
tribes
L UWI A N L O G O G R A M S · C I R C A 1 4 0 0 A N D 1 2 0 0 B C E · T U R K E Y
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / V i s u al L ang u age S yste m s
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CIRCA 3,000 BCE
Syllabaries
• 1 character = 1 syllable
• Basic speech elements
• Consonant and vowel combination
• Words required many drawn
strokes
OLD P E RS IAN SYLL ABARY · 600 BCE
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / V i s u al L ang u age S yste m s
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Alphabetic
Charactersitics
Criteria
• A set of visual symbols
• Used to express one or more languages
• Individual glyphs for individual sounds
• Smaller units than syllables or words
• Characters representing consonants
• Characters representing vowels
• Standard ordering (alphabetical order)
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / V i s u al L ang u age S yste m s
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2,800 BCE
Alphbetic form
• Cretan Pictographs
• Early Minoan mark-making
• A possible basis for later
alphabetic forms
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / V i s u al L ang u age S yste m s
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C R E TA N P I C T O G R A P H S · L I N E A R B S Y L L A B A R Y · M Y C E N A E A N G R E E K · 1 , 7 0 0 B C E
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / V i s u al L ang u age S yste m s
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Phaistos Disk
• 241 hieroglyphic tokens
• Highly detailed pictograms
• Hatchet, eagle, carpenter’s
square, animal skin, vase
• Relief impressions in
terra cotta
• Origin of movable type?
P H A I S T O S D I S K · MI N O A N C I V I L I Z A T I O N · E X C A V A T E D I N 1 9 0 8 , C R E T E
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / V i s u al L ang u age S yste m s
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PHAISTOS DISK AND SYMBOL KEY
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S
Hieroglyphics
2,700 BCE
Three varieties of proto-alphabetic expression
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G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / H i eroglyph i cs
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Three types of writing
1.Hieroglyphics—The classic pictographic Egyptian writing
2.Hieratic script—Developed around the same time as the hieroglyphic
script and was used for official tasks (record keeping, accounting,
and writing letters)
3.Demotic script—The popular script, a name given to it by Herodotus,
developed from a northern variant of the Hieratic script in around 660 BC
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / H i eroglyph i cs
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C L A S S I C E G Y P T I A N H I E R O G LY P H I C S
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / H i eroglyph i cs
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T H E E V O L U T I O N O F H I E R AT I C S C R I P T
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / H i eroglyph i cs
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D E M O T I C S C R I P T, C O N T R AC T, P T O L E M A I C E R A
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / H i eroglyph i cs
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T H E R O S E T TA S T O N E · E G Y P T I A N H I E R O G LY P H I C S , E G Y P T I A N D E M O T I C S C R I P T A N D C L A S S I C A L G R E E K
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / H i eroglyph i cs
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2,700 BCE
Hieroglyphics
Made from three different parts:
1.Ideograms
Pictorial denotation of an object
2.Phonograms
Denote a sound or sequence of sounds
3.Determinatives
Provide clues to meaning and sounds
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / H i eroglyph i cs
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2,700 BCE
Hieroglyphics
• Vowel sounds existed but were
unwritten
• Consonantal alphabet (abjad)
• Requires cultural knowledge
• Relied on grouping devices
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S
The Phoenician Alphabet
1,500 BCE
Cuneiform, Hieroglyphs, and Cretan pictographs
come together to form the seeds of the modern alphabet
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G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he P hoen i c i an A lphabet
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1500 BCE
The Phoenicians
• Modern day Lebanon, Syria and Israel
• Seafaring merchants and ship builders
• Needed an alphabet for their native tongue
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he P hoen i c i an A lphabet
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1500 BCE
The Phoenician
Alphabet
• Distillation of Cuneiform,
Hieroglyphs, and Cretan
pictographs
• Simple for non-Phoenician
people to learn
• Read from right-to-left
P H O E N I C I A N P E T R O G LY P H I C I N S C R I P T I O N
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he P hoen i c i an A lphabet
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1500 BCE
The Phoenician
Alphabet
• Unprecedented use of
alphabetical order
• 22 letters, each representing
a single sound (phonetic)
• Democratized writing for
Phoenicians
• Consonantal alphabet
(abjad)
TH E P H OE N I C IAN ALP HAB E T · C I RCA 1 ,500 BCE · 22 CHAR ACTE RS
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he P hoen i c i an A lphabet
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1500 BCE
The Phoenician Alphabet
• Unprecedented use of alphabetical order
• 22 letters, each representing a single sound
• Read from right-to-left
• Democratized writing for Phoenicians
• Simple for non-Phoenician people to learn
• Consonantal alphabet (abjad)
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he P hoen i c i an A lphabet
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1500 BCE
Since vowels sounds were not specified,
a two-syllable word like drama could have
at least nine different pronunciations.
1.drama
4.drima
7.druma
2.dramu
5.drimu
8.drumu
3.drami
6.drimi
9.drumi
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S
The Greek Alphabet
1,000 BC
Greece, an epicenture of science, philosophy, democracy,
art, architecture, literature, and alphabetic evolution
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G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he G reek A lphabet
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1,000 BCE
Cadmus
• Mythic Greek Cadmus
• Brought the Phoenician
alphabet to Greece
• Invented history
• Created prose
• Designed a few Greek
letters
• His use of writing allowed
him to raise and control
armies quickly
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he G reek A lphabet
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THE GREEK ALPHABET
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he G reek A lphabet
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• Early Greek used
Phoenician characters,
arranged the same
• Anyone who could read
ancient Phoenician could
also read Greek
• Five were changed to
vowels, making it a true
alphabet
• All capital letters
• No punctuation,
paragraphs, or word
spacing
• The direction of reading
changed several times
E A R LY G R E E K I N S C R I P T I O N · T H E R O S E T TA S T O N E
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he G reek A lphabet
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Greek was often read in a format known
as boustrophedon or as the ox plows
One row would read left-to-right and then
switch from right-to-left
BOUSTROPHEDON
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he G reek A lphabet
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E A R LY G R E E K P E T R O G LY P H I C I N S C R I P T I O N W R I T T E N I N B O U S T R O P H E D O N G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he G reek A lphabet
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REVERSE BOUSTROPHEDON
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he G reek A lphabet
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Centralized
by Athens
400 BCE
• Classical Greek settled on rightto-left orientation
• Letterforms became monumental
and some letters were reversed
• Based on formal geometric ideals,
lack of scripted-details
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S
The Latin Alphabet
200 BCE – 1,400 CE
The ultimate expression of our modern written language
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G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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A brief timeline
750 BCE
Rome was a village on the Tiber River
200 BCE
Rome conquered Greece in the second century BCE
100 BCE
By the end of the first century CE the Roman Empire stretched
from the British Isles in the north, to Egypt in the south, and
from the Iberian Peninsula in the West to the Persian Gulf at
the base of the ancient land of Mesopotamia
–PM
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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Greek influence
The Romoans modeled their art, literature,
religion and philosophy from the Greeks
• Greek scholars and libraries were taken to Rome
• The Latin Alphabet came to the Romans from Greece
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G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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The Latin Alphabet shows
heavy influence from the
Etruscan alphabet of 700 BCE
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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250 BCE
• The Latin Alphabet is formed
• 20 letters
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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250 BCE
• Spurius Carvilius designed G to replace Z (zeta)
• 21 letters
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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100 BCE (AFTER G REEK CONQUEST)
• The Greek letters Y Z were added to the end
• Romans were appropriating Greek words using these sounds
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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A brief timeline
410 CE
Rome is sacked by the Visigoths
476 CE
Fall of the Roman Empire
Emperor Constantine was situated in Ravenna, Italy
The Latin Alphabet had gained use all over the world
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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900 CE (MIDDLE AG ES)
• V represented two Old English sounds
• U was formed to assume the soft vowel sound
• 24 letters
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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1,100 CE (MIDDLE AG ES)
• VV in frequent use
• W double-u
• Began as a ligature of V
• 25 letters
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G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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ABCDEFGH
IJKLMNOPQR
STUVWXYZ
1,300 CE (MIDDLE AG ES)
• J was formed as a consonantal version of I
• Manuscripts
• Typically used at the beginning of a word
• 26 letters
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G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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117 CE
The ultimate resolution
of the Roman letterform
appears in an inscription
at the base of Trajan’s
Column
·
G D T- 1 0 1 / H I S T O R Y O F G R A P H I C D E S I G N / E A R LY A L P H A B E T S / T he L at i n A lphabet
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T R A J A N ’ S C O L UM N , R O M E , 1 1 7 C E
Summary
The evolution of our modern alphabet can be traced
through Cretan Pictographs, to the Phoenician Alphabet,
the Greek Alphabet and ultimately the Latin Alphabet.