An alphabet is a kind of system used to represent language in written form. Many languages use alphabets. But some languages use other systems to represent words in writing. For instance, in Japanese and Cherokee each symbol represents a group of sounds rather than a single sound. The Chinese writing system uses symbols to represent the meaning of words, not their sounds.
The Latin alphabet is the alphabet of English and most European languages. It has 26 letters. Other alphabets might have fewer or more letters. Like other alphabets, the Latin alphabet developed from earlier forms.
People in early societies drew pictures to communicate ideas. In ancient times people in the Middle East developed the world's first writing system. It used symbols to stand for the meanings of words. Later it also used some symbols to represent the sounds of words.
More than 3,000 years ago people in what is now Syria used a simpler writing system. This system is called North Semitic. Most modern alphabets trace their history back to that system. North Semitic used only 22 symbols. It did not have any signs representing whole words. Instead each letter represented a consonant. There were no symbols for vowels. People known as the Phoenicians later slightly changed this system.
The ancient Greeks changed the Phoenician writing system to create their own alphabet. Some people consider the Greek alphabet to be the first true alphabet. This is because it has symbols for vowels and consonants. The Greek alphabet is the ancestor of all modern European alphabets, including Latin.
The ancient Romans, who spoke Latin, developed the Latin alphabet. As the Roman Empire grew, the Latin alphabet spread throughout the empire's vast lands. It became the alphabet of many other languages in addition to Latin. The alphabet changed over time. New letters were needed to pronounce words in other languages. Other letters were combined.
The North Semitic writing system also gave rise to other ancient alphabets, including Aramaic. The modern Hebrew and Arabic alphabets developed from the Aramaic alphabet. Today people in Israel and Jews around the world use the Hebrew alphabet. People in large parts of the Middle East and North Africa use the Arabic alphabet. In Hebrew and Arabic a small group of consonants gives the basic meaning of a word. Vowels slightly change the meaning.
The ancient Aramaic alphabet probably also influenced the earliest-known writing system of India. This system, called Brahmi, dates back more than 2,500 years. Nearly all the modern alphabets of India trace their history to Brahmi.
The Cyrillic alphabet was created more than 1,000 years ago. Members of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe used it for religious texts. The Cyrillic alphabet was based on the Greek alphabet of the time. Today people in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, and elsewhere use versions of the Cyrillic alphabet.