Chapter Two: Alphabets

I enjoyed reading chapter 2, which was titled Alphabets. The alphabet was the next invention of writing, and was the next big step toward communication. Symbols and characters were used to represent specific sounds used while speaking. The Phiastos Disk was discovered and seen as significant because it may, but may not have, been the origin of the alphabet. This disk was comprised of engraved spirals and pictographs—similar to the alphabet characters. Different alphabets were formed in the past. The North Semitic alphabet was one of them, and it was used by the Canaanites, Hittites, and Phoenicians. The oldest scripts were found in Phoenicia and they also were the best engineered. They wrote from right to left. There was also the Aramaic alphabet, which was also written from right to left. It is one of the most used alphabets today, and the Muslim religion had spread because of it. The Greek alphabet was very important and became a communication tool. They first wrote from right to left, then wrote every line in the opposite direction, called Boustrophedon. Finally, the writing direction evolved from left to right, which is what we use today. This alphabet had more structure and harmony than the Phoenician alphabet, and it was the origin of alphabets used today. The Latin alphabet used serifs, which may have been created from chisels or intentionally carved from drawings. Parchment was an important material created. It could be written on both sides, unlike papyrus, and it helped the people save money and space. Parchment could soon be used like a modern day book by a format called codex. It was easier to read by turning the pages than by unrolling/rolling them. The Korean alphabet was also created. The characters were taken by the Chinese and altered so that the consonants were written as abstract characters of the mouth pronouncing the sounds. The vowels were horizontal and vertical lines with dots representing humans, heaven, and earth. Altogether, alphabets were different and spread around the world. Public affairs and information were known easier. People could become more involved with what was going on around the world. The priests and scribes were no longer treated special, as they were in Mesopotamia and Egypt, because everyone was able to read and write if they wanted. The priests’ power began to decrease.

I found the Korean alphabet to be the most interesting. It’s so cool how they used abstract forms of pronunciations of the mouth saying the 14 consonants they used. I also enjoyed learning how they used vertical and horizontal lines with dots for the vowels. I think it would be fun to learn their alphabet, although I do not know how similar/different it is to today’s Korean alphabet. I also thought it was interesting learning about the production of parchment. I can see how much more useful it would have been to substitute it in the place of papyrus.

Which other kinds of writing sheets were used/created after parchment and before present-day paper?
Did the Korean alphabet change much after it had been created?