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The Phoenician alphabet [b] is an abjad (consonantal alphabet) [2] used across the Mediterranean civilization of Phoenicia for most of the 1st millennium BC. It was the first alphabet ever developed, and attested in Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions found across the Mediterranean region.
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- Egyptian & Cuneiform Influence
- Similarities to Hebrew
- Evolution
Our knowledge of the Phoenician language is based on the few extant written texts in Phoenician. Before circa 1000 BCE Phoenician was written using cuneiform symbols that were common across Mesopotamia. The first signs of the Phoenician alphabet found at Byblos are clearly derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics, and not from cuneiform. The 22 Phoenici...
By 1000 BCE the Phoenician and Hebrew languages had become distinct from Aramaic, which was spoken in Canaan. To give a few examples, the "ha-" prefix is used in both Phoenician and Hebrew to indicate a determinate noun, while in Aramaic the "-a" suffix is used. The pronoun for the first person is "ānōkī" while in Aramaic it is "anā" (as it is in m...
The Phoenician writing system is, by virtue of being an alphabet, simple and easy to learn, and also very adaptable to other languages, quite unlike cuneiform or hieroglyphics. In the 9th century BCE the Aramaeans had adopted the Phoenician alphabet, added symbols for the initial "aleph" and for long vowels. This Aramaic alphabet eventually turned ...
- Thamis
Jul 12, 2024 · The Phoenician alphabet stands out for its simplicity and functionality, consisting of just 22 characters, all consonants. This consonantal script, known as an abjad, requires the reader to infer vowel sounds from the context, making it a compact and efficient system.
Aug 4, 2023 · What was the significance of the Phoenician alphabet, and how did it influence other writing systems? The Phoenician alphabet, one of the first alphabets in the world, allowed them to maintain detailed trade records and communicate effectively with a variety of cultures.
Notable features. Type of writing system: abjad / consonant alphabet with no vowel indication. Writing direction: right to left in hortizontal lines. Sometimes boustrophedon. Script family: Proto-Sinaitic, Phoenician. Number of letters: 22 - there was considerable variation in their forms in different regions and at different times.
May 26, 2024 · Phonetic system: Unlike logographic scripts like cuneiform and hieroglyphs that used symbols to represent whole words or ideas, the Phoenician alphabet was purely phonetic, with each letter corresponding to a single sound in the spoken language. This vastly reduced the number of symbols needed.
Mar 18, 2022 · The Phoenician alphabet is an ancient alphabet that we have knowledge of because of Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions discovered across the Mediterranean region. A hugely influential language, it was used to write the early Iron Age Canaanite languages such as Phoenician, Hebrew, Ammonite, Edomite and Old Aramaic.
