Alphabet

An alphabet is a group of letters that is used to write a language. The letters follow each other in a certain order. Each of the letters stands for a sound.
Thousands of years ago there were no letters. People drew pictures to describe their thoughts and ideas. At first these pictures were simple. They could be understood by most people. A picture of an eye meant an eye.

Later, the picture of an eye might mean “to look at.” The Chinese, the Egyptians, and the Babylonians developed very complicated picture writing. It was not easy to write with pictures. The writer had to remember about 600 symbols.

The Phoenicians developed the first alphabet. They used a sign for each sound in their language. These sign were borrowed by the Greeks. They called the first two letters alpha and beta. The word alphabet comes from these two names. The Romans borrowed the Greek alphabet. They made some changes and added a few more letters. That alphabet became the one we use today.