The alphabet is one of humanity’s most profound inventions, a system that enables us to visually represent spoken language. Over time, various alphabets have emerged across civilisations, each uniquely shaped by history, culture, and religion. This article explores three distinct alphabets: Latin, Glagolitic, and Arabic, emphasising their unique characteristics, histories, and contributions to human communication.

Latin Alphabet

The Latin alphabet is the most widely used writing system globally and serves as the standard script for English and most European languages. It originated from the Etruscan alphabet, which itself was derived from the Greek alphabet. The classical Latin alphabet initially consisted of 23 letters. Over time, it evolved to include 26 letters, as seen in modern English, with the differentiation of letters such as I and J, and U, V, and W during medieval times. The Latin script has two primary historical forms: capital letters and cursive. From these emerged various medieval scripts, including humanistic handwriting. The humanistic script significantly influenced the development of the Roman typeface used in modern printing, while the cursive form impacted the italic typeface. The alphabet is characterised by its clear distinction between uppercase and lowercase letters, as illustrated below:

• Uppercase: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.
• Lowercase: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z.

The Glagolitic Alphabet

The Glagolitic alphabet, created in the 9th century CE by Saints Cyril and Methodius- Byzantine missionaries to the Slavic peoples- is the oldest known Slavic script. It was developed to translate Christian scriptures into Old Church Slavonic, enabling access to religious texts for the Slavic world. While it was eventually supplanted by the Cyrillic alphabet in most Slavic regions, Glagolitic remained significant in medieval Croatia, where it was used in religious liturgy until the 19th century. Its continued use contributed to the preservation of Slavic linguistic identity and promoted literacy among Slavic Christians. The alphabet consists of approximately 41 characters, characterised by their intricate and decorative style, written from left to right and deeply embedded in religious and cultural history. Below is a representation of the Glagolitic alphabet:

Ⰰ Ⰱ Ⰲ Ⰳ Ⰴ Ⰵ Ⰶ Ⰷ Ⰸ Ⰹ Ⰺ Ⰻ Ⰼ Ⰽ Ⰾ Ⰿ Ⱀ Ⱁ Ⱂ Ⱃ Ⱄ Ⱅ Ⱆ Ⱇ Ⱈ Ⱉ Ⱊ Ⱋ Ⱌ Ⱍ Ⱎ Ⱏ Ⱐ Ⱑ Ⱒ Ⱓ Ⱔ Ⱕ Ⱖ Ⱗ Ⱘ Ⱙ Ⱚ Ⱛ Ⱜ Ⱝ Ⱞ Ⱟ ⰰ ⰱ ⰲ ⰳ ⰴ ⰵ ⰶ ⰷ ⰸ ⰹ ⰺ ⰻ ⰼ ⰽ ⰾ ⰿ

Arabic Alphabet

The Arabic alphabet is a cursive script used primarily for writing the Arabic language and several other languages, including Persian, Urdu, and Ottoman Turkish. It originated from the Nabataean Aramaic script around the 4th to 6th centuries CE. The earliest known Arabic inscriptions date back to the late 4th century, with the script becoming standardised by the 7th century during the early Islamic period. The Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters and is written from right to left. Its unique cursive nature means most letters connect within words, and it uses dots and diacritical marks to distinguish between letters and indicate short vowels. The system of vowel marks was developed around the 7th and 8th centuries to aid in correct pronunciation, especially for reading the Quran.

Here's a representation of the Arabic alphabet: ا (Alef) - ب (Ba) - ت (Ta) - ث (Tha) - ج (Jeem) - ح (Haa) - خ (Kha) د (Dal) - ذ (Dhal) - ر (Ra) - ز (Zay) - س (Seen) - ش (Sheen) - ص (Sad) ض (Dad) - ط (Tah) - ظ (Zah) - ع (Ayn) - غ (Ghain) - ف (Fa) - ق (Qaf) ك (Kaf) - ل (Lam) - م (Meem) - ن (Noon) - ه (Ha) - و (Waw) - ي (Ya)

The Latin, Glagolitic, and Arabic alphabets are not just tools for writing; they are carriers of history, identity, and civilisation. While the Latin alphabet dominates modern global communication, the Glagolitic script preserves the legacy of Slavic cultural awakening, and the Arabic alphabet remains central to a vast linguistic and spiritual tradition. Each alphabet reflects the values and needs of its users, reminding us that written language is both a functional and deeply symbolic human achievement.