Chapter 2: Alphabets The invention of the alphabet was a major step forward in human communication.
This diagram displays several evolutionary steps of Western alphabets. The controversial theory linking early Cretan pictographs to alphabets is based on similarities in their appearance. The subsequent invention of the alphabet was a major step forward in human communication.
PHOENICIAN While the great civilizations of Babylon and Assyria were fighting over the eastern Fertile Crescent, around 1100 B.C.E., a great nation rose in the west, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Phoenicia of the second millennium BCE developed a merchant society that contributed to the alphabetic system.
The Phoenicians biggest legacy was their alphabet.
Their alphabet is the grandfather of ancient Hebrew, Greek and Latin.
The Phaistos Disk, 1850-1600BC The principle of movable type was used in a Western culture as early as 2000 BCE and was first seen on the Phaistos Disk found on Crete. The disc has a diameter of 15cm and on both its sides has 45 unique hieroglyphic symbols repeatedly stamped - pressed forming two spirals of a total of 241 symbols and alphabetic forms. The 241 signs include a man in a plumed headdress, a hatchet, an eagle, a carpenter s square, an animal skin, and a vase.
North Semitic Alphabet Canaanites, Arabs, Hebrews, and Phoenicians of the western Mediterranean region are believed to be the source of early alphabets. Where is this region located? Ras Shamra script, c. 1500 BCE. A north semitic cuneiform-like alphabet was the first script discovered that used characters to represent elementary consonant sounds. How does the North Semitic people s geographic location influence the development of early alphabet systems?
Hebrew and Arabic Languages Hebrew Characters Naskhi Characters Hebrew around 1000 bc What are the graphic characteristics of Hebrew letterforms? Arabic around 500 bc What are the two forms of the Arabic languages and what are they used for? What similarities do these two languages possess graphically? Kufic Characters
The gestural curves of the Aramaic alphabet evolved into the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets.
2 5. Die Hebräische Schrift (The Hebrew Script), type specimen, H. Berthold G, Berlin, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Vienna, Riga, 1924. The graphic forms of the Hebrew alphabet are squared, bold letters whose horizontal strokes are thicker than their vertical strokes.
2 6. Kufi c characters are bold, elongated, and angular; their aesthetic properties are widely admired.
Giambattista Bodoni, page from Manuale tipografi co, 1818. Arabic type specimen.
Gujarati Type Foundry, Bombay. 1930. Indian Sanskrit type.
The Greek Alphabet The Phoenician alphabet was adopted by the Greeks around 1000 BC. How do you think the Greeks really were exposed to the Phoenician culture and influenced? Greek civilization laid the foundation for many of the accomplishments of the Western world. The Legend of King Cadmus of Phoenicia Can you name at least 3?
The Greek Alphabet Around 400bc Athens officially adopted a version of the Greek alphabet that became standard throughout Greece. What visual qualities do these versions of the Greek alphabet have?
Greek Alphabet The Greeks gave more structure to the rough Phoenician letterforms. The Greek writing has order and balance. All the letterforms sit on baseline. The letters and the strokes are standardized Define the term boustrophedon.
Greek Alphabet
Greek Alphabet As early as the 2nd century AD the Greeks created a more rounded style of writing. What ws this new style called? Uncials What was the advantage for a scribe to develop this paticular hand?
Greek Alphabet The Golden Age of Athens 500bc Image A Identify these images from the text and explian the role they played in the Greek democracy. hollow Image B solid
ARCHAIC GREEK Votive Wheel 2 9. c. 525 500 BCE. A dedication to Apollo is legible through the medium-green patina of this metal wheel, 16 centimeters (6 inches) in diameter, used for worship.
Cuneiform & Phoenician To Greek & Latin
2 15. Greek scaraboid seal depicting Hermes, messenger of the gods. Archaic period, 550 500 BCE.
ETRUSCAN CIVILIZATION Iron working had began in 1000 b.c. and the Etruscans were able to develop it further, taking advantage of the iron deposits found in their surroundings and creating iron weapons. It is believed that the Etruscan civilization was made up of several tribes each with their own king, this would explain why in Etruscan art there is a variety of styles. Etruscan Bucchero vase, 7th or 6th century BCE. A prototype of an educational toy, this rooster shaped toy jug is inscribed with the Etruscan alphabet.
The Latin Alphabet Latin alphabet came to the Romans from Greece by way of the Etruscans. Rome conquered Greece in the 2 nd Century BC and absorbed Greek literature, art and religion and altered them to conform to their society and spread them throughout the vast Roman Empire. Rome took great pride in its accomplishments and created monumental letterforms for architectural inscriptions celebrating their generals and victories. What are these inscriptions on Roman monuments called and what are their graphic characteristics?
Carved inscription from the base of Trajan s Column, c. 114 CE Located in Trajan s Forum in Rome, this masterful example of capitalis monumentalis (monumental capitals) gives silent testimony to the ancient Roman dictum the written word remains. The controlled brush drawing of the forms on the stone combines with the precision of the stonemason s craft to create letterforms of majestic proportion and harmonious form.
The inscription (six lines and 37 words, many of which are abbreviated) is essentially a simple dedication of the monument. The letterforms, however, represent perhaps the most elegant, and certainly the most celebrated, example of the Roman letter. The inscription has served as the model Roman alphabet for almost two millennia.
Justice & Establishment
CLASS & ELEGANCE
power & victory
Less conventional uses
The Latin Alphabet The Roman written hand took two main design styles: Capitalis Quadrata Capitalis Rustica What are the characteristics of these two styles of writing? Examples of the Capitalis Rustica script from a wall in Pompei
LATIN ALPHABET Roman brush writers used typography for: Political campaign and advertising on exterior walls using capitalis quadrata and capitalis rustica Posters painted on reusable panels Signboards were made by professional letterers Romans wrote on wood, clay, flat pieces of metal and was tablets in wooden frames, as well as papyrus from Egypt. Wall writing from Pompeii, first century CE. Over sixteen hundred messages ranging from passages from Vergil to crude obscenities were preserved under more than 3.6 meters (12 feet) of volcanic ash.
LATIN ALPHABET: CAPITALIS QUADRATA
LATIN ALPHABET: CAPITALIS RUSTICA
The Latin Alphabet Eventually parchment became used for writing in 190 BC by necessity to overcome an embargo placed on papyrus. What is parchment and how is it related to a revolutionary design format called the codex? What were the advantages of a book format over a scroll format for scholars at this time and why did the Christians begin to use this new format?
PARCHMENT This material was made from animals skin. Vellum was a high quality parchment. They used it to make drums, tambourines, etc. It was very used in Middle Age. It was easier to get than papyrus. It was harder and better than papyrus to write. It was very expensive too.
Papyrus and parchments were both used till parchment substituted papyrus. PARCHMENT Men made parchments stretching and tensing skins in frames and working on them.
CODEX A codex was a book, it wasn t a roll. First codex pages were of papyrus. They could write in both faces of the pages and can numbered the pages too. Later papyrus was substituted for vellum paper. Vellum was made from animals skin.
The Korean Alphabet, HANGUL In 1446, King Sejong created an alphabet for the Korean Language. Hangul is a script of 24 letters, 10 of which are vowels and 14 consonants. Some scholars and officials strongly opposed the new writing system. They thought literacy of the masses was unnecessary and dangerous. Right alphabets to teach my people Artificial Letter; Organized & Scientific
Hangul consonants signify the structure of the mouth when speaking Korean.
Ten Hangul vowels are signified by the placement of dots adjacent to vertical or horizontal lines.
This matrix shows how individual Hangul characters are combined into blocks to correspond to spoken syllables in the Korean language. The Hangul is not written in a linear sequence in the manner of Greek and Roman alphabets; rather letters are combined within an imaginary rectangle to form syllabic blocks.
Korean woodblock book translation, c. eighteenth century, of The Interpretation of Mencius s Theory by Liu Chunji (1607 1675). Reading from right to left and top to bottom, single Chinese symbols are followed by Korean alphabetic translations.
Conclusion Alphabetic writing began to slowly transform Western society. Alphabetic writing was easy to learn and literacy was put with in reach of ordinary people. The Alphabet remains one of humankind s greatest achievements.