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An '''alphabet''' is a series of symbols ([[letter]]s) which correlate to individual sounds, allowing the spoken word to be recorded for later use.  The word "alphabet" is a combination of the first two letters ([[alpha]] and [[beta]]) of the [[Greek]] alphabet. Many ancient alphabets are believed to have been developed from even earlier writings, of ancient ''pictograms'' where a spoken sound or word was represented by small drawing of an object. These pictures eventually developed into formalised graphical symbols.  By convention these symbols are written in a specific order ([[alphabetic]] order) when listed.

An '''alphabet''' is a series of symbols ([[letter]]s) which correlate to individual sounds, allowing the spoken word to be recorded for later use.  The word "alphabet" is a combination of the first two letters ([[alpha]] and [[beta]]) of the [[Greek]] alphabet, which, itself was derived from the first two letters of the Phoenician and the Hebrew Aleph and Bet. Many ancient alphabets are believed to have been developed from even earlier writings, of ancient ''pictograms'' where a spoken sound or word was represented by small drawing of an object. These pictures eventually developed into formalised graphical symbols.  By convention these symbols are written in a specific order ([[alphabetic]] order) when listed. The allphabet was a great impetus to literacy as there was no longer a need to learn myriads of pictures to represent the multitudinous concepts present in reality and thought. Now, with the alphabet, all that was needed was to learn the symbols to represent the rather limited sounds of any particular language.  

== Latin Alphabets ==

== Latin Alphabets ==

== Hebrew Alphabet ==

== Hebrew Alphabet ==

The '''Hebrew alphabet''' is made up of 22 letters used in the Hebrew and [[Judaism|Jewish]] languages. The Hebrew word for "alphabet" is '''אלף-בית''' ("alef-bet"), derived from the first two letters of the alphabet. Five of the letters - Kaf, Mem, Nun, Pe and Tsadi - have a different appearance when used as the last letter in a word. The letters are written and read from right to left, and have only one case.

The '''Hebrew alphabet''' is made up of 22 letters used in the Hebrew and [[Judaism|Jewish]] languages. The Hebrew word for "alphabet" is '''אלף-בית''' ("alef-bet"), derived from the first two letters of the alphabet. Five of the letters - Kaf, Mem, Nun, Pe and Tsadi - have a different appearance when used as the last letter in a word. The letters are written and read from right to left, and have only one case. The Hebrew Alphabet (for the Hebrew language, as opposed to the "Jewish" language - Yiddish) is totally consonental, vowels sometimes written with other signs and sometimes not written at all. This is in conformity to the secondary nature of vowels in the languages themselves of the Semitic group of languages. The present Hebrew alphebet is not the original Hebrew alphabet but is a development of the Aramaic script. In some Hebrew literature,such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the original Hebrew alphabet is used for the divine Name of God - Yod, Hay, Vav, Hay, within a text employing the "modern" Hebrew, Aramaic derived script. The original Hebrew script is much closer to the pictographs from which the alphabetic script was derived. Examples - the "y" sound represented alphabetically by the Yod looks like a hand and indeed,Yod, or its varient Yad means "hand".  The "k" sound represented by the "Kaf" looks like the palm of a hand, and kaf means palm of the hand. The "Ayin" looks like an eye and "ayin" means eye.

The alphabetic sign was, thus, a stylized derivation, of the very first sound heard in the words for very common objects, and so were called by what the object was known as in the language.  

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