The Phoenician alphabet is the oldest verified consonantal alphabet. It was used for the writing of Phoenician, a Northern Semitic language, used by the civilization of Phoenicia and was derived from the Egypt hieroglyphics.
The Phoenician Alphabets became one of the most widely used writing systems, spread by Phoenician merchants across the Mediterranean world, where it evolved and was assimilated by many other cultures. The Arabic script, which led to the creation of Hebrew script, and the Greek alphabet that eventually evolved into Latin, are both descendents of the Phoenician Alphabet.
One of the reason of its widespread impact is due to the Phoenician’s maritime traveling culture. The alphabet was spread into North Africa and Europe. Besides providing a uniform writing system, the arrival of alphabet has a long-term effects on the social structure of the civilizations which it influenced. Without the alphabet, the English language that we are learning now in the 21st century would probably be a lot more complicated than the simple spelling that we have been using.
SPICE
Cultural- Phoenician alphabet is a significant legacy of the Phoenician culture that represents a unity as a group. The necessity of developing a written language is an evidence of their unity and advancement. The alphabet also has deep influences in the later writing system that were developed.
Social- social and economic classes: The simplicity of Phoenician alphabet allowed common people to learn how to write, which altered the long-standing situation that only social elites had access to writing systems. Therefore reduced the monopoly of power by the upper class citizens and disintegrated the class divisions.
ancient sea faring Phoenicians
Picture source: en.wikipedia.org & www.bible-history.com
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