Definition
An alphabet is a writing system in which a small set of symbols — usually a few dozen letters — represents the individual sounds of a language. Combining those few symbols can spell any word, which makes an alphabet far simpler to learn than systems with hundreds or thousands of signs.
Earlier writing systems, such as Mesopotamian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphics, used many symbols for whole words or syllables. The alphabet's breakthrough was to reduce writing to a compact, sound-based code. The Phoenicians are credited with developing and spreading the version that became the ancestor of most alphabets used today.
Why it matters
How it works
An alphabet works by matching symbols to phonemes — the basic sounds of speech. A reader sounds out letters and assembles them into words, and a writer does the reverse. Because the number of sounds in any language is small, the number of letters needed stays manageable.
The Phoenician alphabet, a sound-based script of about twenty-two letters, traveled along Mediterranean trade routes. The Greeks adopted it and added symbols for vowels; the Romans adapted the Greek version into the Latin alphabet, which spread across Europe and, eventually, much of the world.