Alphabet

An alphabet is a series of symbols that enable the spoken word to be recorded for later use and are the foundation stone of writing. The word "alphabet" is a combination of the first two letters (alpha and beta) of the Greek alphabet. Modern alphabets have evolved from ancient pictograms where a spoken sound 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).

Latin Alphabets

Most Western alphabets are based on the script of ancient Rome which comprises the following 23 characters or letters:

Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Vv, Xx, Yy, Zz

English Alphabet

In the English language three characters have been added to the Latin alphabet, and the English alphabet comprises the following 26 characters:

Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, Zz

Other Languages

Most European languages use the same letters as the English alphabet but often less than the full 26 except in the case of imported words. Other languages have extended the alphabet with diacritics, digraphs and ligatures .

Greek Alphabet

The Greek alphabet comprises the following characters:

Αα, Ββ, Γγ, Δδ, Εε, Ζζ, Ηη, Θθ, Ιι, Κκ, Λλ, Μμ, Νν, Ξξ, Οο, Ππ, Ρ ρ, Σσς, Ττ, Υυ, Φφ, Χχ, Ψψ, Ωω