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The History of Alphabet
How did the writing system evolve?
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Introduction: Pre-Alphabetic Writing
The modern alphabet, ubiquitous in Western life, has a fascinating history.
Initially, writing began with cuneiform and hieroglyphic pictographs,
which eventually gave way to the alphabet. Chinese writing, based on
ideograms, is distinct from the alphabetic system.
Now, the question arises:
Q. What happened to ideographic writing?
A. Ideographic writing, where symbols represent concepts or objects directly, has evolved and transformed over time.
Alphabetic Systems: The rise of alphabetic writing, starting with the Phoenician alphabet, shifted focus from ideograms to phonetic
representation. Alphabets represent sounds rather than concepts.
Reasons for Decline:
1. Complexity: Ideographic systems require learning thousands of
symbols.
2. Limited Expressiveness: Ideograms struggle to represent abstract
concepts or nuanced meanings.
