Alphabet: Definition, Origin, Facts
An alphabet is a collection of graphs or letters that represent language's phonemic structure. Stay tuned for details, including the origin, facts, and all 26 letters.
Supriya Shrivastava2 Jan, 2025
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Alphabet : An alphabet is a collection of graphs or symbols that is used to show a language's phonemic structure. The letters in most alphabets are ordered in a certain sequence, or order (e.g., A, B, C, etc.). Normally, an alphabetic letter represents a vowel or a consonant instead of a syllable or a combination of vowels and consonants.
[video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://www.pw.live/exams/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Curious-Jr-Ad-3-1-1.mp4"][/video]Alphabet Definition
The term alphabet, derived from the first two Greek letters, alphabetum, was first used by Tertullian, a Latin church father and ecclesiastical writer, in the second and third centuries CE. St. Jerome also used it. The later term alphabētos was most likely derived from Latin, although the plural of to gramma, or "the letter," was often used by the Classical Greeks. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://www.pw.live/exams/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Courios-jr-Reel-4_Landscape_India-1.mp4"][/video]Origin of Alphabet
There were two significant developments in the alphabet's development. The first was the action made between 1700 and 1500 BCE by a group of Semitic-speaking people on the eastern bank of the Mediterranean, who may have been called the Phoenicians. This led to the development of the North Semitic writing system, which is consonantal. The Greeks created letters to represent vowels, which was the second innovation. This action took place in the year 800–700 BCE. Both systems are presented here as versions of the alphabet, even though some scholars see the Greek writing system as the actual alphabet and the Semitic writing system as an unvocalized syllabary.Alphabet of English
The alphabet in English has 26 letters. Every letter has two forms: a lowercase ("small letter") and an uppercase ("capital letter"). Here are 26 English Alphabet given below:| English Alphabet | ||||
| Sr. No | Capital Letter | Small Letter | Phonic (pronunciation) | Name |
| 1 | A | a | /eɪ/, /æ/ | a |
| 2 | B | b | /biː/ | bee |
| 3 | C | c | /siː/ | cee |
| 4 | D | d | /diː/ | dee |
| 5 | E | e | /iː/ | e |
| 6 | F | f | /ɛf/ | ef |
| 7 | G | g | /dʒiː/ | gee |
| 8 | H | h | /(h)eɪtʃ/ | (h)aitch |
| 9 | I | i | /aɪ/ | i |
| 10 | J | j | /dʒeɪ/ | jay |
| 11 | K | k | /keɪ/ | kay |
| 12 | L | l | /ɛl/ | el |
| 13 | M | m | /ɛm/ | em |
| 14 | N | n | /ɛn/ | en |
| 15 | O | o | /oʊ/ | o |
| 16 | P | p | /piː/ | pee |
| 17 | Q | q | /kjuː/ | cue |
| 18 | R | r | /ɑːr/ | ar |
| 19 | S | s | /ɛs/ | ess |
| 20 | T | t | /tiː/ | tee |
| 21 | U | u | /juː/ | u |
| 22 | V | v | /viː/ | vee |
| 23 | W | w | /ˈdʌbəl.juː/ | double-u |
| 24 | X | x | /ɛks/ | ex |
| 25 | Y | y | /waɪ/ | wy |
| 26 | Z | z | /zi/zɛd/ | zee/zed |
Alphabets Facts
Here is some information about old and modern alphabets given below:- The English Alphabet consists of five vowels: A, E, I, O, and U.
- The remaining 21 letters are consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Z, and, most often, W and Y.
- The following digraphs are found in written English: ch ci ck gh ng ph qu rh sc sh th ti wh wr zh. These aren't considered different alphabetic letters.
- Additionally, two letters, "A" and "I," form the words.
- Until 1835, the 27th letter of the alphabet (immediately after "z") was the ampersand (&).
- The Latin script, which is the basic group of letters shared by all the alphabets derived from the ancient Latin alphabet, serves as the foundation for the English alphabet.
Old English Alphabet
There were 29 letters in the Old English alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Y, Z, & ⁊ ̷ Þ Ð Æ. In 1011, a monk by the name of Byrhtferð documented the Old English alphabet, which consisted of five new English letters (Long S, Ͽ), Eth (Ð and ð), Thorn (þ), Wynn (̿), and Ash (Ϛ�; subsequently Æ and ae) in addition to the 24 Latin letters (including and minus). Old English does not have the letters J, U, or W, compared to Modern English.| Preposition | Tense Chart |
| Alphabet | Adjectives |
Alphabet FAQs
Q1 - How do you define an alphabet?
Ans - A collection of graphs or symbols used to depict a language's phonemic structure is called an alphabet. Characters are ordered in most alphabets according to a predetermined sequence or order (e.g., A, B, C, etc.).
Q2 - What is the origin of the term alphabet?
Ans - Alpha and Beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, are the source of the term alphabet. St. Jerome and Tertullian used it for the first time in the second and third centuries CE in its Latin form, alphabetum. The Classical Greeks used the plural of to gramma ("the letter"), but the later form alphabētos was likely introduced under Latin influence.
Q3 - What is the total number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet?
Ans - There are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Although four of them (alef, he, waw, and yod) are also used to indicate long vowels, the other letters are all consonants.
Q4 - Who discovered the alphabet?
Ans - In the Middle East, approximately 1700 B.C., Semitic-speaking people created this set. The Phoenicians refined it and brought it to other cultures. This is the basis of our modern alphabet. We refer to each symbol as a letter. In our language, a single sound is represented by each letter of the alphabet.
Q5 - What is the purpose of the alphabet?
Ans - They contribute to the lifelong formation of our language and communication. We have the benefit of learning how to pronounce letters and words, speak in a language, and spell in a language when we learn the alphabet as the basis of our spoken language.
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