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[[Alphabetic writing]]{{snd}}where [[letter (alphabet)|letter]]s generally correspond to individual sounds in a language ([[phonemes]]), as opposed to having symbols for syllables or words{{snd}}was likely invented once in human history. The [[Proto-Sinaitic script]] emerged during the 2nd millennium&nbsp;BC among a community of West Semitic laborers in the [[Sinai Peninsula]]. Exposed to the idea of writing through the complex system of [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]], their script instead wrote their native [[West Semitic languages]]. With the possible exception of [[hangul]] in Korea, all later alphabets used throughout the world either descend directly from the Proto-Sinaitic script, or were directly inspired by it.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sampson |first=Geoffrey |url=https://archive.org/details/writingsystems00geof |title=Writing systems: A linguistic introduction |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1985 |isbn=0-8047-1254-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/writingsystems00geof/page/77 77] |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{sfn|Ladefoged|Disner|2012|p=191}}  It has been conjectured that the community selected a small number of those commonly seen in their surroundings to [[Acrophony|describe the sounds]], as opposed to the [[semantics|semantic values]] of their own languages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goldwasser |first=O. |year=2012 |title=The Miners that Invented the Alphabet – a Response to Christopher Rollston |journal=Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections |volume=4 |issue=3 |doi=10.2458/azu_jaei_v04i3_goldwasser |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goldwasser |first=O. |year=2010 |title=How the Alphabet was Born from Hieroglyphs. |url=https://www.academia.edu/6916402 |journal=Biblical Archaeology Review |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=40–53}}</ref> This script was partly influenced by [[hieratic]], an older cursive script derived from hieroglyphs.<ref>Himelfarb, Elizabeth J. "[http://archive.archaeology.org/0001/newsbriefs/egypt.html First Alphabet Found in Egypt]", ''Archaeology'' 53, Issue 1 (Jan–Feb 2000): 21.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goldwasser |first=Orly |author-link=Orly Goldwasser |year=2010 |title=How the Alphabet Was Born from Hieroglyphs |url=https://members.bib-arch.org/biblical-archaeology-review/36/2/6 |journal=Biblical Archaeology Review |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Biblical Archaeology Society |volume=36 |issue=1 |issn=0098-9444 |access-date=6 Nov 2011}}</ref>{{dubious|Derivation from hieroglyphs is a minority view|date=March 2025}} Mainly through the [[Phoenician alphabet]] that descended from Proto-Semitic, alphabetic writing spread throughout West and South Asia, North Africa, and Europe during the 1st millennium&nbsp;BC.

Some modern authors distinguish between consonantal alphabets, with the term ''[[abjad]]'' coined for them in 1996, and ''true alphabets'' with letters for both consonants and vowels. In this narrower sense, the first true alphabet would be the [[Greek alphabet]], which was adapted from the Phoenician alphabet. Many linguists are skeptical of the value of wholly separating the two categories. [[Latin alphabet|Latin]], the most widely used alphabet today,{{sfn|Haarmann|2004|p=96}} in turn derives from the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] and Greek alphabets, themselves derived from Phoenician.

== Predecessors ==
Two scripts are well attested from before the end of the 4th millennium&nbsp;BC: Mesopotamian [[cuneiform]] and [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]]. Hieroglyphs were employed in three ways in Ancient Egyptian texts: as pictograms denoting an object visually depicted by the hieroglyph (or [[logogram]]s representing extensions of the object), as [[phonogram (linguistics)|phonogram]]s denoting sounds, or as determinatives which provide clues to meaning without directly writing sounds.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=hieroglyphics |encyclopedia=The Keywords of Media Theory |publisher=University of Chicago |url=http://csmt.uchicago.edu/glossary2004/hieroglyphics.htm}}</ref> Since vowels were mostly unwritten, the [[Egyptian hieroglyph#Uniliteral signs|hieroglyphs which indicated a single consonant]] could have been used as a consonantal alphabet, or ''abjad''. This was not done when writing the Egyptian language, but seems to have been an influence on the creation of the first alphabet.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Daniels |first=Peter T. |year=2016 |title=Writing in the World and Linguistics |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7vv3w7p8 |journal=Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society |volume=36 |issue=36 |page=81}}</ref> All subsequent alphabets around the world have either descended from this first Semitic alphabet, or have been inspired by one of its descendants by [[stimulus diffusion]], with the possible exception of the [[Meroitic alphabet]], a 3rd-century&nbsp;BC adaptation of hieroglyphs in [[Nubia]] to the south of Egypt. The [[rongorongo]] script of [[Easter Island]] may also be an independently invented alphabet, but too little is known of it to be certain.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Anderson |first=Sonja |title=Did the People of Easter Island Invent a Writing System From Scratch? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/research-reveals-the-natives-of-easter-island-invented-a-written-language-from-scratch-180983793/ |access-date=2024-02-17 |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref>

== Consonantal alphabets ==
=== Semitic alphabet ===
The [[Proto-Sinaitic script]] was invented by a community of West Semitic laborers in the [[Sinai Peninsula]] in the 2nd millennium&nbsp;BC, and was used to write the community's native [[West Semitic languages]]. It has not been fully deciphered. The oldest examples are found as [[Graffito (archaeology)|graffiti]] in the [[Wadi el-Hol]] and date to {{circa|1850&nbsp;BC}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Darnell |first1=John Coleman |author-link1=John Coleman Darnell |last2=Dobbs-Allsopp |first2=F. W. |author-link2=F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp |last3=Lundberg |first3=Marilyn J. |last4=McCarter |first4=P. Kyle |author-link4=P. Kyle McCarter Jr. |last5=Zuckerman |first5=Bruce |year=2005 |title=Two Early Alphabetic Inscriptions from the Wadi el-Hôl |journal=The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=59 |pages=63, 65, 67–71, 73–113, 115–124 |jstor=3768583}}</ref> The table below shows hypothetical prototypes of the [[Phoenician alphabet]] in Egyptian hieroglyphs. Several correspondences have been proposed with Proto-Sinaitic letters.

{| class=wikitable
! scope="row" | Egyptian prototype
| <hiero>F1</hiero>
| <hiero>O1</hiero>
| <hiero>T14</hiero>
| <hiero>O31</hiero>
| <hiero>A28</hiero>
| <hiero>T3</hiero>
| <hiero>Z4</hiero>
| <hiero>O6</hiero>
| <hiero>F35</hiero>
| <hiero>D42</hiero>
| <hiero>D46</hiero>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
| [[File:PhoenicianA-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianB-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianG-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianD-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianE-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianW-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianZ-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianH-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:Phoenician teth.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianI-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianK-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
|-
! scope="row" | Acrophony
| [[ʾalp]] 'ox'
| [[beth (letter)|bet]] 'house'
| [[gaml]] '[[Boomerang#Hunting|thrown hunting club]]'
| [[daleth|digg]] 'fish' or 'door'
| [[he (letter)|haw, hillul]] 'jubilation'
| [[waw (letter)|waw]] 'hook'
| [[zayin|zen, ziqq]] 'handcuff'
| [[ḥet]] 'courtyard' or 'fence'
| [[ṭēt]] 'wheel'
| [[yodh|yad]] 'arm'
| [[Kaph|kap]] 'hand'
|}

{| class=wikitable
! scope="row" | Egyptian prototype
| <hiero>S39</hiero>
| <hiero>N35</hiero>
| <hiero>I10</hiero>
| <hiero>R11</hiero>
| <hiero>D4</hiero>
| <hiero>D21</hiero>
| <hiero>M22</hiero>
| <hiero>V24</hiero>
| <hiero>D1</hiero>
| <hiero>T9A</hiero>
| <hiero>Z9</hiero>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
| [[File:PhoenicianL-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianM-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianN-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianX-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianO-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianP-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianTsade-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianQ-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianR-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:PhoenicianS-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:Proto-semiticT-01.svg|20px|class=skin-invert]]
|-
! scope="row" | Acrophony
| [[Lamedh|lamd]] 'goad'
| [[mem]] 'water'
| [[Nun (letter)|nun]] 'large fish' or 'snake'
| [[samek]] 'support' or 'pillar'
| [[ʿen]] 'eye'
| [[piʾt]] 'bend'
| [[ṣad]] 'plant'
| [[qoph|qup]] 'monkey' or 'cord of wool'
| [[raʾs]] 'head'
| [[šimš|šananuma]] 'bow'
| [[taw]] 'signature'
|}

This Semitic script adapted Egyptian hieroglyphs to write consonantal values based on the first sound of the Semitic name for the object depicted by the hieroglyph, the "acrophonic principle".{{sfn|Hooker|1998|pp=211–213}} For example, the hieroglyph ''[[Per (hieroglyph)|per]]'' 'house' was used to write the sound {{IPA blink|b}} in Semitic, because {{IPA blink|b}} was the first sound in the Semitic word ''bayt'' 'house'.{{sfn|McCarter|1974|pp=54–68}} Little of this Proto-Canaanite script has survived, but existing evidence suggests it retained its pictographic nature for half a millennium until it was adopted for governmental use in Canaan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Azevedo |first=Joaquim |date=1994 |title=The Origin and Transmission of the Alphabet |url=https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=theses |access-date=February 14, 2024 |website=Digital Commons, Andrews University}}</ref> The first Canaanite states to make extensive use of the alphabet were the [[Phoenicia]]n city-states and so later stages of the Canaanite script are called "Phoenician". The Phoenician cities were maritime states at the center of a vast trade network and soon the Phoenician alphabet spread throughout the Mediterranean. Two variants of the Phoenician alphabet had major impacts on the history of writing: the [[Aramaic alphabet]] and the [[Greek alphabet]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Van De Mieroop |first=Marc |title=Before and after Babel |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-19-763466-0 |pages=149–C7.P48 |chapter=Vernaculars That Changed the World}}</ref>

=== Descendants of the Aramaic abjad ===
[[File:Arabic alphabet world distribution.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Global distribution of the Arabic alphabet. The dark green areas shows the countries where this alphabet is the sole main script. The light green shows the countries where the alphabet co-exists with other scripts.]]
The Phoenician and Aramaic alphabets, like their Egyptian prototype, represented only consonants, a system called an ''[[abjad]]''. The Aramaic alphabet, which evolved from the Phoenician in the 7th century&nbsp;BC, to become the official script of the [[Achaemenid Empire]], appears to be the ancestor of nearly all the modern alphabets of Asia:
* The [[Arabic alphabet]] descended from Aramaic via the [[Nabataean alphabet]] of what is now southern [[Jordan]]. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic script in the world (after [[Latin script|Latin]]) and the most used abjad system.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Arabic Alphabet |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31666/Arabic-alphabet |access-date=2015-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426185709/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31666/Arabic-alphabet |archive-date=26 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* The modern [[Hebrew alphabet]] started out as a local variant of [[Imperial Aramaic]]. The original Hebrew alphabet has been retained by the [[Samaritan alphabet|Samaritans]].{{sfnm|Hooker|1998|1p=222|Robinson|2007|2p=172}}
* The [[Syriac alphabet]] used after the 3rd century&nbsp;AD evolved, through the [[Pahlavi scripts]] and [[Sogdian alphabet]], into the alphabets of North Asia such as the [[Old Turkic alphabet]], the [[Old Uyghur alphabet]], the [[Mongolian writing systems]], and the [[Manchu alphabet]].
* The [[Georgian scripts]] are of uncertain provenance, but appear to be part of either the Persian-Aramaic or Greek family.

== Alphabets with vowels ==
=== Greek alphabet ===
{{Main|History of the Greek alphabet}}
[[File:NAMA Alphabet grec.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Greek alphabet on ancient [[black-figure pottery]]. There is a ''[[digamma]]'' but no ''ksi'' or ''omega''. The letter ''phi'' upright in the photograph is missing a stroke and looks like the ''omicron'' Ο, but on the other side of the bottom it is a full Φ.]]
[[File:Cippo perugino, con iscrizione in lingua etrusca su un atto giuridico tra le famiglie dei velthina e degli afuna, 02.jpg|thumb|[[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] writing, the beginning of the writing with the [[Latin alphabet]]]]

By the 8th century&nbsp;BC, the Greeks borrowed the Phoenician alphabet and adapted it to their own language,{{sfn|McCarter|1974|p=62}} creating in the process the first "true" alphabet, in which vowels were accorded equal status with consonants. According to Greek legends transmitted by [[Herodotus]], the alphabet was brought from Phoenicia to Greece by [[Cadmus]]. The letters of the Greek alphabet are the same as those of the Phoenician alphabet, and both alphabets are arranged in the same order.{{sfn|McCarter|1974|p=62}} However, whereas separate letters for vowels would have actually hindered the legibility of Egyptian, Phoenician, or Hebrew, their absence was problematic for Greek, where [[vowel]]s played a much more important role.{{sfn|Daniels|Bright|1996|p=27|loc="there are languages for which an alphabet is {{em|not}} an ideal writing system. The Semitic abjads really do fit the structure of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic very well, [more] than an alphabet would ... since the spelling ensures that each root looks the same through its plethora of inflections and derivations."}} The Greeks used for vowels some of the Phoenician letters representing consonants which were not used in Greek speech. All of the names of the letters of the Phoenician alphabet started with consonants, and these consonants were what the letters represented; this is called the [[acrophonic]] principle.

However, several Phoenician consonants were absent in Greek, and thus several letter names came to be pronounced with initial vowels. Since the start of the name of a letter was expected to be the sound of the letter (the acrophonic principle), in Greek these letters came to be used for vowels. For example, the Greeks had no glottal stop or voiced pharyngeal sounds, so the Phoenician letters ''’alep'' and ''`ayin'' became Greek ''[[alpha]]'' and ''o'' (later renamed ''[[omicron]]''), and stood for the vowels {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/o/}} rather than the consonants {{IPA|/ʔ/}} and {{IPA|/ʕ/}}. As this fortunate development only provided for five or six (depending on dialect) of the twelve Greek vowels, the Greeks eventually created [[digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] and other modifications, such as ''ei'', ''ou'', and <u>''o''</u>—which became [[omega]]—or in some cases simply ignored the deficiency, as in long ''a'', ''i'', ''u''.{{sfn|Robinson|2007|p=170}}

Several varieties of the Greek alphabet developed. One, known as the [[Cumae alphabet]], was used west of [[Athens]] and in [[southern Italy]]. The other variation, known as Eastern Greek, was used in Asia Minor. The Athenians ({{circa|400&nbsp;BC}}) adopted that latter variation and eventually the rest of the Greek-speaking world followed. After first writing right to left, the Greeks eventually chose to write from left to right, unlike the Phoenicians who wrote from right to left. Many Greek letters are similar to Phoenician, except the letter direction is reversed or changed, which can be the result of historical changes from right-to-left writing to [[boustrophedon]], then to left-to-right writing.

[[File:Cyrillic alphabet world distribution.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Global distribution of the Cyrillic alphabet. The dark green areas shows the countries where this alphabet is the sole main script. The light green shows the countries where the alphabet co-exists with other scripts.]]
Greek is in turn the source of all the modern scripts of Europe. The alphabet of the early western Greek dialects, where the letter [[eta]] remained an {{IPA|/h/}}, gave rise to the [[Old Italic alphabet]] which in turn developed into the Old [[Roman alphabet]]. In the eastern Greek dialects, which did not have an /h/, eta stood for a vowel, and remains a vowel in modern Greek and all other alphabets derived from the eastern variants: [[Glagolitic]], [[Cyrillic]], [[Armenian alphabet|Armenian]], [[Gothic alphabet|Gothic]]—which used both Greek and Roman letters—and perhaps [[Georgian alphabet|Georgian]].{{sfn|Robinson|2007}}

Although this description presents the evolution of scripts in a linear fashion, this is a simplification. For example, Georgian scripts derive from the Semitic family, but were also strongly influenced in their conception by Greek. A modified version of the Greek alphabet, using an additional half dozen [[Demotic (Egyptian)|Demotic]] hieroglyphs, was used to write [[Coptic alphabet|Coptic]] Egyptian. Then there is [[Canadian Aboriginal syllabics|Cree syllabics]] (an [[abugida]]), which is a fusion of [[Devanagari]] and [[Pitman shorthand]] developed by the missionary [[James Evans (linguist)|James Evans]].<ref>Andrew Dalby (2004:139) ''Dictionary of Languages''</ref>

=== Latin alphabet ===
{{Main|History of the Latin alphabet}}
[[File:Latin alphabet world distribution.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Global distribution of the Latin alphabet. The dark green areas show the countries where this alphabet is the sole main script. The light green shows the countries where the alphabet co-exists with other scripts.]]
A tribe known as the [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latins]], who became the Romans, also lived in the Italian peninsula like the Western Greeks. From the [[Etruscans]], a tribe living in the first millennium&nbsp;BC in central Italy, and the Western Greeks, the Latins adopted writing in about the 7th century. In adopting writing from these two groups, the Latins dropped four characters from the Western Greek alphabet. They also adapted the Etruscan letter [[F]], pronounced /w/, giving it the /f/ sound, and the Etruscan S, which had three zigzag lines, was curved to make the modern [[S]]. To represent the [[G]] sound in Greek and the [[K]] sound in Etruscan, the [[gamma]] was used. These changes produced the modern alphabet without the letters [[G]], [[J]], [[U]], [[W]], [[Y]], and [[Z]], as well as some other differences.

[[C]], [[K]], and [[Q]] in the Roman alphabet could all be used to write both the {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}} sounds; the Romans soon modified the letter C to make G, inserted it in seventh place, where [[Z]] had been, to maintain the [[gematria]] (the numerical sequence of the alphabet). Over the few centuries after [[Alexander the Great]] conquered the Eastern Mediterranean and other areas in the 3rd century&nbsp;BC, the Romans began to borrow Greek words, so they had to adapt their alphabet again to write these words. From the Eastern Greek alphabet, they borrowed [[Y]] and [[Z]], which were added to the end of the alphabet because the only time they were used was to write Greek words.

The [[Anglo-Saxons]] began writing [[Old English]] using the Latin alphabet following its introduction alongside [[Augustine of Canterbury]]'s mission to Christianise Britain in the 6th century. Because the [[rune]] ''wen'', which was first used to represent the /w/ sound looked like a p that is narrow and triangular, was easy to confuse with an actual p, the /w/ sound began to be written using a double U. Because the u at the time looked like a V, the double U looked like two Vs, [[W]] was placed in the alphabet after [[V]]. [[U]] developed when people began to use the rounded [[U]] when they meant the vowel U and the pointed [[V]] when the meant the consonant [[V]]. [[J]] began as a variation of [[I]], in which a long tail was added to the final [[I]] when there were several in a row. People began to use the [[J]] for the consonant and the [[I]] for the vowel by the 15th century, and it was fully accepted in the mid-17th century.

== Letter names and order ==
The order of the letters of the alphabet is attested from the 14th century&nbsp;BC in the town of [[Ugarit]] on [[Syria]]'s northern coast.{{sfn|Robinson|2007|p=162}} Tablets found there bear over one thousand cuneiform signs, but these signs are not Babylonian and there are only thirty distinct characters. About twelve of the tablets have the signs set out in alphabetic order. There are two orders found, one of which is nearly identical to the order used for [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]], [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] and [[Latin alphabet|Latin]], and a second order very similar to that used for [[Geʽez script|Geʽez]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Millard |first=A. R. |year=1986 |title=The infancy of the alphabet |journal=World Archaeology |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=390–398 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1986.9979978 |jstor=124703}}</ref>

It is not known how many letters the [[Proto-Sinaitic alphabet]] had nor what their alphabetic order was. Among its descendants, the [[Ugaritic alphabet]] had 27 consonants, the [[South Arabian alphabet]]s had 29, and the [[Phoenician alphabet]] 22. These scripts were arranged in two orders, an ''ABGDE'' order in Phoenician and an ''HMĦLQ'' order in the south; Ugaritic preserved both orders. Both sequences proved remarkably stable among the descendants of these scripts.

The letter names proved stable among the many descendants of Phoenician, including the [[Samaritan alphabet|Samaritan]], [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]], [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac]], Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek alphabets. However, they were largely abandoned in [[Tifinagh]], Latin and [[Cyrillic]]. The letter sequence continued more or less intact into Latin, [[Armenian alphabet|Armenian]], [[Gothic alphabet|Gothic]], and Cyrillic, but was abandoned in [[Brahmi]], runes, and Arabic, although a traditional [[abjadi order]] remains or was re-introduced as an alternative in the latter.

The table shows Proto-Sinaitic and its descendants.

{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center"
! scope="col" | {{numero}}
! scope="col" | Reconstruction
! scope="col" | [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
! scope="col" | value
! scope="col" | [[Proto-Sinaitic]]
! scope="col" | [[Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon|Proto-Canaanite]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Ancient writing systems in the Mediterranean | date=2008 |url=https://mnamon.sns.it/index.php?page=Simboli&id=53&lang=en |access-date=2024-02-05 |at=Proto-Canaanite (ca. 1700-950 B.C.) – List of symbols |place=Florence |publisher=Scuola Normale Superiore |doi=10.25429/sns.it/lettere/mnamon000 |isbn=978-88-7642-719-0 | author1=Laboratorio di Storia, Archeologia, Epigrafia, Tradizione dell'antico }}</ref>
! scope="col" | [[Ugaritic alphabet|Ugaritic]]
! scope="col" | [[Ancient South Arabian script|Old Arabian]]
! scope="col" | [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
! scope="col" | [[Aramaic alphabet|Imperial Aramaic]]
! scope="col" | [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]]
! scope="col" | [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]]
! scope="col" | [[Greek alphabet|Greek]]
! scope="col" | [[Latin alphabet|Latin]]
! scope="col" | [[Cyrillic]]
! scope="col" | [[Runic]]
|-
! scope="row" | 1
| {{tlit|sem|[[ʾalp]]}} 'ox'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}{{sfn|Albright|1966|loc=fig. 1}}
| {{IPA|/ʔ/}}
| 1
| [[File:Proto-semiticA-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Aleph]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteA01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎀
| 𐪑/𐩱 {{tlit|sem|ʾālep}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤀}} {{tlit|sem|ʾālep}}
| [[File:Aleph.svg|10x10px|class=skin-invert]]𐡀 'ālap̱
| {{script|Hebr|א}} {{tlit|sem|ʾālef}}
| {{script|Arab|[[aleph|ﺍ]]}} {{tlit|sem|ʾalif}}
| [[Α]] alpha
| [[A]]
| [[А]] azŭ
| [[ᚨ]] *ansuz
|-
! scope="row" | 2
| {{tlit|sem|[[beth (letter)|bayt]]}} 'house'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/b/}}
| 2
| [[File:Proto-semiticB-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Bet]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteB011.svg|18x18px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎁
| 𐪈/𐩨 {{tlit|sem|bēt}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤁}} {{tlit|sem|bēt}}
| [[File:Beth.svg|12x12px|class=skin-invert]]𐡁 bēṯ
| {{script|Hebr|ב}} {{tlit|sem|bēṯ}}
| {{script|Arab|ﺏ}} {{tlit|sem|bāʾ}}
| [[Β]] bēta
| [[B]]
| [[В]] vĕdĕ, [[Б]] buky
| [[ᛒ]] *berkanan
|-
! scope="row" | 3
| {{tlit|sem|[[gaml]]}} 'throwstick'
| {{IPA|/ɡ/}}
| 3
| [[File:Proto-semiticG-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Gimel]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteG01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎂
| 𐪔/𐩴 {{tlit|sem|gīmel}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤂}} {{tlit|sem|gīmel}}
| [[File:Gimel.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]] gāmal
| {{script|Hebr|ג}} {{tlit|sem|gīmel}}
| {{script|Arab|ﺝ}} {{tlit|sem|jīm}}
| [[Γ]] gamma
| [[C]], [[G]]
| [[Г]] glagoli
| [[ᚲ]] *kaunan, {{highlight|(Maybe: [[ᛃ]] *jēra-)}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | 4
| {{tlit|sem|[[dalet|dalt]]}} 'door'
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/d/}}
| 4
| [[File:Proto-semiticD-02.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Dalet]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteD01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| rowspan="2" | 𐎄
| 𐪕/𐩵 {{tlit|sem|dālet}}
| rowspan="2" | {{Script|Phnx|𐤃}} {{tlit|sem|dālet}}
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Daleth.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡃 dālaṯ
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Hebr|ד}} {{tlit|sem|dāleṯ}}
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Arab|ﺩ}} {{tlit|sem|dāl}}, {{script|Arab|ذ}} {{tlit|sem|ḏāl}}
| rowspan="2" | [[Δ]] delta
| rowspan="2" | [[D]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Д]] dobro
| {{maybe|([[ᛞ]] *dagaz, [[ᚦ]] *Þurisaz)}}
|-
! scope="row" | {{tlit|sem|dag}} 'fish'
| {{n/a}}
| [[File:Proto-semiticD-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Dalet]]
| ([[File:Proto-canaaniteD01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]])
| &lrm;𐪏/𐩯 {{tlit|sem|samēk}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | 5
| {{tlit|sem|[[he (letter)|haw]]}} 'window' / {{tlit|sem|hillul}} '[[hallel|jubilation]]'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/h/}}
| 5
| [[File:Proto-semiticE-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Heh]]
| [[File:Proto-CanaaniteH01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎅
| 𐪀/𐩠 {{tlit|sem|hē}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤄}} {{tlit|sem|hē}}
| [[File:He0.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡄 hē
| {{script|Hebr|ה}} {{tlit|sem|hē}}
| {{script|Arab|ه}} {{tlit|sem|hāʾ}}
| [[Ε]] epsilon
| [[E]]
| [[Е]] ye, [[Є]] estĭ
| {{n/a}}
|-
! scope="row" | 6
| {{tlit|sem|[[wāw]]}} 'hook'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/w/}}
| 6
| [[File:Proto-semiticW-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Waw]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteW01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎆
| 𐪅/𐩥 {{tlit|sem|wāw}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤅}} {{tlit|sem|wāw}}
| [[File:Waw.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡅 waw
| {{script|Hebr|ו}} {{tlit|sem|vāv}}
| {{script|Arab|و}} {{tlit|sem|wāw}}
| {{lang|grc|[[Ϝ]]}} digamma, [[Υ]] upsilon
| [[F]], [[U]], [[V]], [[W]], [[Y]]
| [[Оу]] / [[Ꙋ]] ukŭ → [[У]]
| [[ᚠ]] *fehu, [[ᚢ]] *ûruz / *ûran, {{highlight|(Maybe: [[ᛉ]] *algiz?)}}
|-
! scope="row" | 7
| {{tlit|sem|[[zayin|ziq]]}} 'manacle'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/z/}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[File:Proto-semiticZ-02.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Ziqq]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mykytiuk |first=Lawrence J. |date=1998 |title=IS HOPHNI IN THE 'IZBET SARTAH OSTRACON? |url=https://www.andrews.edu/library/car/cardigital/Periodicals/AUSS/1998-1/1998-1-05.pdf}}</ref>
| {{n/a}}
| 𐪘/𐩸 {{tlit|sem|zayn}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | 8
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|sem|[[zayin|zayn]]}} 'weapon'{{sfn|Albright|1966|loc=fig. 1}} / {{tlit|sem|[[zayin|dayp]]}} 'eyebrow'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/z/}} or {{IPA|/ð/}}
| rowspan="2" | 7
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Proto-semiticZ-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Zayin]]
| rowspan="2" {{n/a}}
| rowspan="2" | 𐎇
| rowspan="2" | 𐪙/𐩹 {{tlit|sem|ḏālet}}
| rowspan="2" | {{Script|Phnx|𐤆}} {{tlit|sem|zayin}}
| [[File:Zayin.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡆 zayn
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Hebr|ז}} {{tlit|sem|zayin}}
| {{script|Arab|ز}} {{tlit|sem|zayn or zāy}}
| rowspan="2" | [[Ζ]] zēta
| rowspan="2" | [[Z]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Ꙁ]] / [[З]] zemlya
| rowspan="2" {{maybe|([[ᛇ]] *īhaz / *īwaz, [[ᛉ]] *algiz?)}}
|-
| ([[File:Daleth.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡃 dalaṯ){{cn|date=December 2024}}
| ({{script|Arab|ذ}} {{tlit|sem|ḏāl}})
|-
! scope="row" | 9
| {{tlit|sem|[[heth|ḥaṣir]]}} 'mansion'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/ħ/}}
| 8
| [[File:Proto-semiticH-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Ḥet]]
| rowspan="2" |[[File:Proto-canaaniteḤ01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎈
| 𐪂/𐩢 {{tlit|sem|ḥēt}}
| rowspan="2" | {{Script|Phnx|𐤇}} {{tlit|sem|ḥēt}}
| rowspan="2" |[[File:Heth.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡇 ḥēṯ
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Hebr|ח}} {{tlit|sem|ḥēṯ}}
| {{script|Arab|ح}} {{tlit|sem|ḥāʾ}}, {{script|Arab|خ}} {{tlit|sem|ḫāʾ}}
| rowspan="2" | [[Η]] ēta
| rowspan="2" | [[H]]
| rowspan="2" | [[И]] iže
| rowspan="2" | [[ᚺ]] *haglaz
|-
! scope="row" | 10
| {{tlit|sem|[[heth|ḫayt]]}} 'thread'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/x/}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[File:Inscription 349 Proto-Sinaitic Heth.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|𓎛]]
| 𐎃
| 𐪍/𐩭 {{tlit|sem|ḫēt}}
| ({{script|Arab|خ}} {{tlit|sem|ḫāʾ}})
|-
! scope="row" | 11
| {{tlit|sem|[[teth|ṭab]]}} 'good'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/tˤ/}}
| 9
| [[File:Proto-semiticṬ-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert]]{{efn|The Canaanites seem to have replaced the 𓄤 glyph with one resembling a spinning wheel (ṭayt) 𓊖.|name=changePho}}
| ([[File:Proto-semiticTet-01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]])
| 𐎉
| (𐪗/𐩷 {{tlit|sem|ṭēt}})
| ({{Script|Phnx|𐤈}} {{tlit|sem|ṭēt}})
| ([[File:Teth.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡈 ṭeṯ)
| ({{script|Hebr|ט}} {{tlit|sem|ṭēṯ}})
| ({{script|Arab|ط}} {{tlit|sem|ṭāʾ}}, {{script|Arab|ظ}} {{tlit|sem|ẓāʾ}})
| ([[Θ]] thēta)
| {{n/a}}
| ([[Ѳ]] fita)
| {{maybe|([[ᚦ]] *Þurisaz)}}
|-
! scope="row" | 12
| {{tlit|sem|[[Yodh|yad]]}} 'hand'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/j/}}
| 10
| [[File:Proto-semiticI-02.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Yad]] [[File:Proto-semiticI-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Yad]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteJ01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎊
| 𐪚/𐩺 {{tlit|sem|yōd}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤉}} {{tlit|sem|yōd}}
| [[File:Yod.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡉 yoḏ
| {{script|Hebr|י}} {{tlit|sem|yōḏ}}
| {{script|Arab|ي}} {{tlit|sem|yāʾ}}
| [[Ι]] iota
| [[I]], [[J]]
| [[І]] ižei
| [[ᛁ]] *isaz
|-
! scope="row" | 13
| {{tlit|sem|[[kaph|kap]]}} 'palm'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/k/}}
| 20
| [[File:Proto-semiticK-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Khof]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteK01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎋
| 𐪋/𐩫 {{tlit|sem|kaf}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤊}} {{tlit|sem|kap}}
| [[File:Kaph.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡊 kāp̱
| {{script|Hebr|כ ך}} {{tlit|sem|kāf}}
| {{script|Arab|ك}} {{tlit|sem|kāf}}
| [[Κ]] kappa
| [[K]]
| [[К]] kako
| {{n/a}}
|-
! scope="row" | 14
| {{tlit|sem|[[Lamedh|lamd]]}} 'goad'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/l/}}
| 30
| [[File:Proto-semiticL-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Lamed]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteL01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎍
| 𐪁/𐩡 {{tlit|sem|lāmed}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤋}} {{tlit|sem|lāmed}}
| [[File:Lamed.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡋 lāmaḏ
| {{script|Hebr|ל}} {{tlit|sem|lāmeḏ}}
| {{script|Arab|ل}} {{tlit|sem|lām}}
| [[Λ]] lambda
| [[L]]
| [[Л]] lyudiye
| [[ᛚ]] *laguz / *laukaz
|-
! scope="row" | 15
| [[Mem|Maym]] 'waters'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/m/}}
| 40
| [[File:Proto-semiticM-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Mem]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteM01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎎
| 𐪃/𐩣 {{tlit|sem|mēm}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤌}} {{tlit|sem|mēm}}
| [[File:Mem.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡌 mim
| {{script|Hebr|מ ם}} {{tlit|sem|mēm}}
| {{script|Arab|م}} {{tlit|sem|mīm}}
| [[Μ]] mu
| [[M]]
| [[М]] myslite
| [[ᛗ]] *mannaz
|-
! scope="row" | 16
| {{tlit|sem|[[naḥš]]}} 'snake'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/n/}}
| 50
| [[File:Proto-semiticN-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Nun]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteN01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎐
| 𐪌/𐩬 {{tlit|sem|nun}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤍}} {{tlit|sem|nun}}
| [[File:Nun.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡍 nun
| {{script|Hebr|נ ן}} {{tlit|sem|nun}}
| {{script|Arab|ن}} {{tlit|sem|nūn}}
| [[Ν]] nu
| [[N]]
| [[Н]] našĭ
| {{maybe|([[ᚾ]] *naudiz)}}
|-
! scope="row" | 17
| {{tlit|sem|[[samek|samk]]}} 'support'
| {{IPA|/s/}}
| 60
| {{n/a}}
| [[File:Proto-semiticX-01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎒
| {{n/a}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤎}} {{tlit|sem|sāmek}}
| [[File:Samekh.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡎 semkaṯ
| {{script|Hebr|ס}} {{tlit|sem|sāmeḵ}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[Ξ]] ksi, ([[Χ]] chi)
| ([[X]])
| [[Ѯ]] ksi, ([[Х]] xĕrŭ)
| ([[ᚷ]] *gebô)
|-
! scope="row" | 18
| {{tlit|sem|[[ʻen|ʿayn]]}} 'eye'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/ʕ/}}
| 70
| [[File:Proto-semiticO-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Ayin]]
| rowspan="2" |[[File:Phoenician ayin.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert|𐤏]]
| 𐎓
| 𐪒/𐩲 {{tlit|sem|ʿayn}}
| rowspan="2" | {{Script|Phnx|𐤏}} {{tlit|sem|ʿayin}}
| rowspan="2" |[[File:Ayin.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡏 ʿayn
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Hebr|ע}} {{tlit|sem|ʿayin}}
| {{script|Arab|ع}} {{tlit|sem|ʿayn}}
| rowspan="2" | [[Ο]] o mikron, [[Ω]] ō mega
| rowspan="2" | [[O]]
| rowspan="2" | [[О]] onŭ
| rowspan="2" | [[ᛟ]] *ōþalą
|-
! scope="row" | 19
| [[ġayn]] ?{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}{{sfn|Albright|1966|loc=fig. 1}}
| {{IPA|/ɣ/}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| 𐎙
| 𐪖/𐩶 {{tlit|sem|ġayn}}
| ({{script|Arab|غ}} {{tlit|sem|ġayn}})
|-
! scope="row" | 20
| {{tlit|sem|[[Pe (Semitic letter)|pay]]}} 'mouth'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}} / {{tlit|sem|piʾt}} 'corner'
| {{IPA|/p/}}
| 80
| [[File:Wadi el-hol-P02.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert]]
[[File:Proto-semiticP-01.svg|19x19px|class=skin-invert]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteP01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎔
| 𐪐/𐩰 {{tlit|sem|fē}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤐}} {{tlit|sem|pē}}
| [[File:Pe0.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡐 pē
| {{script|Hebr|פ ף}} {{tlit|sem|pē}}
| {{script|Arab|ف}} {{tlit|sem|fāʾ}}
| [[Pi (letter)|Π]] pi
| [[P]]
| [[П]] pokoi
| {{maybe|([[ᚹ]] *wunjō, [[ᛈ]] *perþō?)}}
|-
! scope="row" | 21
| {{tlit|sem|[[ṣad]]}} 'plant'{{sfn|Albright|1966|loc=fig. 1}}
| {{IPA|/sˤ/}}
| 90
| [[File:Serabit-El-Khadim-Ṣ356.svg|16x16px|class=skin-invert]]
| rowspan="3" | [[File:Proto-canaaniteṢ01.png|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| rowspan="3" | 𐎕
| 𐪎/𐩮 {{tlit|sem|ṣāḏē}}
| rowspan="3" | {{Script|Phnx|𐤑}} ṣādē
| [[File:Sade 1.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]] [[File:Sade 2.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡑 ṣāḏē
| rowspan="3" | {{script|Hebr|צ ץ}} {{tlit|sem|ṣāḏi}}
| {{script|Arab|ص}} {{tlit|sem|ṣād}},
| rowspan="3" | {{lang|grc|[[Ϻ]] san, ([[Ϡ]] sampi)}}
| rowspan="3" {{n/a}}
| rowspan="3" | [[Ц]] tsi, [[Ч]] črvĭ
| rowspan="3" {{maybe|([[ᛞ]] *dagaz)}}
|-
! scope="row" | 22
| ([[Tsade|ẓeth]]) ?
| {{IPA|/θˤ/}}
| rowspan="2" {{n/a}}
| rowspan="2" {{n/a}}
| 𐪜/𐩼 {{tlit|sem|ẓet}}
| ([[File:Teth.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡈 ṭeṯ){{cn|date=December 2024}}
| ({{script|Arab|ظ}} {{tlit|sem|ẓāʾ}})
|-
! scope="row" | 23
| ([[wikt:𐩳|ḍaḏe]]) ?
| {{IPA|/ɬˤ/}}
| 𐪓/𐩳 {{tlit|sem|ḍāḏē}}
| ([[File:Ayin.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡏 ʿayn){{cn|date=December 2024}}
| ({{script|Arab|ض}} {{tlit|sem|ḍād}})
|-
! scope="row" | 24
| {{tlit|sem|[[qoph|qup]]}} 'monkey'<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pandey |first=Anshuman |date=30 July 2019 |title=Revisiting the Encoding of Proto Sinaitic in Unicode |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2019/19299-revisiting-proto-sinaitic.pdf |website=Unicode.org}}</ref>/ {{tlit|sem|[[qoph|qaw]]}} 'cord', 'line'{{sfn|Albright|1966|loc=fig. 1}}
| {{IPA|/kˤ/}} or {{IPA|/q/}}
| 100
| [[File:Proto-semiticQ-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Qoph]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteQ01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎖
| 𐪄/𐩤 {{tlit|sem|qōf}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤒}} {{tlit|sem|qōp}}
| [[File:Qoph.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡒 qop̱
| {{script|Hebr|ק}} {{tlit|sem|qōf}}
| {{script|Arab|ق}} {{tlit|sem|qāf}}
| {{lang|grc|[[Ϙ]]}} koppa
| [[Q]]
| [[Ҁ]] koppa
| {{maybe|([[ᛜ]] *ingwaz)}}
|-
! scope="row" | 25
| {{tlit|sem|[[raʼs|raʾš]]}} 'head'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/r/}} or {{IPA|/ɾ/}}
| 200
| [[File:Proto-semiticR-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Resh]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteR01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎗
| 𐪇/𐩧 {{tlit|sem|rēš}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤓}} {{tlit|sem|rēš}}
| [[File:Resh.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡓 rēš
| {{script|Hebr|ר}} {{tlit|sem|rēš}}
| {{script|Arab|ر}} {{tlit|sem|rāʾ}}
| [[Ρ]] rho
| [[R]]
| [[Р]] rĭtsi
| [[ᚱ]] *raidô
|-
! scope="row" | 26
| {{tlit|sem|[[Shin (letter)|śamš]]}} '[[shamash|sun]]'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}{{sfn|Albright|1966|loc=fig. 1}}
| {{IPA|/ʃ/}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[File:Proto-semiticŠ-02.svg|16x16px|class=skin-invert]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilson-Wright |first=Aren Max |date=2016 |title=Sinai 357: A Northwest Semitic Votive Inscription to Teššob |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=136 |issue=2 |pages=247–263 |doi=10.7817/jameroriesoci.136.2.247 |issn=0003-0279}}</ref>
| ([[File:Proto-canaaniteŠ01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]])
| rowspan="4" | 𐎌
| (𐪊/𐩪 {{tlit|sem|sat}})
| rowspan="4" | {{Script|Phnx|𐤔}} {{tlit|sem|šin}}
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Shin.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡔 šin
| ({{script|Hebr|ש}} {{tlit|sem|šin}})
| ({{script|Arab|س}} {{tlit|sem|sīn}})
| rowspan="4" | [[Σ]] sigma, [[ϛ]] stigma
| rowspan="4" | [[S]]
| rowspan="4" | [[С]] slovo, [[Ш]] ša, [[Щ]] šta, [[Ꙃ]] / [[Ѕ]] dzĕlo
| rowspan="4" | [[ᛊ]] *sowilô
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | 27
| ?
| {{IPA|/ɬ/}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[File:Proto-canaanite-sl.svg|24x24px|class=skin-invert]]?{{Efn|A [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Proto-canaanite-sl.svg &#124; glyph for ś] has been found in the Canaanite Lachish Comb inscription, though no such glyph has been found in Proto-Sinaitic, and its origin has not been discovered.|name=GlyphSl}}<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Vainstub |first1=Daniel |last2=Mumcuoglu |first2=Madeleine |last3=Hasel |first3=Michael G. |last4=Hesler |first4=Katherine M. |last5=Lavi |first5=Miriam |last6=Rabinovich |first6=Rivka |last7=Goren |first7=Yuval |last8=Garfinkel |first8=Yosef |title=A Canaanite's Wish to Eradicate Lice on an Inscribed Ivory Comb from Lachish |url=https://jjar.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/jjar/files/jjar2_art4_lachish_p76-119_2022-10-12_01.pdf |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology}}</ref>
| (𐪆/𐩦 {{tlit|sem|šin}})
| ({{script|Hebr|שׂ}} śin)
| ({{script|Arab|ش}} {{tlit|sem|šīn}})
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{tlit|sem|[[Shin (letter)|ṯad]]}} 'breast'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/θ/}}, {{IPA|/ɬ/}}
| rowspan="2" | 300
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Serabit-El-Khadim-Ṯ348.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| rowspan="2" | [[File:Proto-canaaniteŠ01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| (𐪆/𐩦 {{tlit|sem|šin}})
| rowspan="3" | [[File:Taw.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]𐡕 taw{{cn|date=December 2024}}
| rowspan="2" | {{script|Hebr|ש}} {{tlit|sem|šin}}
| {{script|Arab|س}} {{tlit|sem|sīn}},
|-
| 𐪛/𐩻 {{tlit|sem|ṯāw}}
| ({{script|Arab|ث}} {{tlit|sem|ṯāʾ}})
|-
! scope="row" | 28
| {{tlit|sem|[[taw]]}} 'mark'{{sfn|Colless|2010|p=96|loc=fig. 5}}
| {{IPA|/t/}}
| 400
| [[File:Proto-semiticT-01.svg|20x20px|class=skin-invert|Tof]]
| [[File:Proto-canaaniteT01.svg|15x15px|class=skin-invert]]
| 𐎚
| 𐪉/𐩩 {{tlit|sem|tāw}}
| {{Script|Phnx|𐤕}} {{tlit|sem|tāw}}
| {{script|Hebr|ת}} {{tlit|sem|tāv}}
| {{script|Arab|ت}} {{tlit|sem|tāʾ}}, {{script|Arab|ث}} {{tlit|sem|ṯāʾ}}
| [[Τ]] tau
| [[T]]
| [[Т]] tvrdo
| [[ᛏ]] *tîwaz
|}

These 26 consonants account for the phonology of [[Northwest Semitic]]. Of the 29 consonant phonemes commonly reconstructed for [[Proto-Semitic]], the voiceless fricatives ś, ṣ́, and ṯ̣ are missing. The phonemes {{tlit|sem|ḏ, ṯ, ḫ, ġ}} disappeared in Canaanite, merging with {{tlit|sem|z, š, ḥ, ʿ}} in Canaanite scripts, respectively. The six variant letters added in the Arabic alphabet include these (except for {{tlit|sem|ś}}, which survives as a separate phoneme in [[Geʽez script|Geʽez]] [[ሠ]]):
* {{tlit|sem|ḏ}} → [[ḏāl]]
* {{tlit|sem|ṯ}} → [[ṯāʾ]]
* {{tlit|sem|ṱ}} → [[ẓāʾ]]
* {{tlit|sem|ġ}} → [[ġayn]]
* {{tlit|sem|ṣ́}} → [[ẓāʾ|ḍād]]
* {{tlit|sem|ḫ}} → [[ḫāʾ]]

== Graphically independent alphabets ==
One modern national alphabet that has not been graphically traced back to the Canaanite alphabet is the [[Thaana|Maldivian]] script, which is unique in that, although it is clearly modeled after Arabic and perhaps other existing alphabets, it derives its letter forms from numerals. Another is the [[hangul]] alphabet used to write [[Korean language|Korean]], which was created in 1443.

== Alphabets in other media ==
Changes to a new writing medium sometimes caused a break in graphical form, or make the relationship difficult to trace. It is not immediately obvious that the cuneiform [[Ugaritic alphabet]] derives from a prototypical Semitic abjad, for example, although this appears to be the case. And while [[manual alphabet]]s are a direct continuation of the local written alphabet (both the [[Two-handed manual alphabets|British two-handed]] and the [[French Sign Language|French]]/[[American Sign Language alphabet|American one-handed]] alphabets retain the forms of the Latin alphabet, as the [[Indo-Pakistani Sign Language|Indian manual alphabet]] does [[Devanagari]], and the [[Korean manual alphabet|Korean]] does Hangul), [[Braille]], [[Flag semaphore|semaphore]], [[maritime signal flags]], and the [[Morse code]]s are essentially arbitrary geometric forms. The shapes of the English Braille and semaphore letters are not derived from the graphic forms of the letters themselves. Most modern forms of [[shorthand]] are also unrelated to the alphabet, generally transcribing sounds instead of letters.

== See also ==
* [[List of creators of writing systems]]
* [[List of languages by first written accounts]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|20em}}

=== Works cited ===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |last=Albright |first=W. F. |author-link=William F. Albright |url=https://archive.org/details/AlbrightTheProtoSinaiticInscriptionsAndTheirDecipherment1969 |title=The Proto-Sinaitic Inscriptions and Their Decipherment |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1966 |isbn=978-0-89130-221-6}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Colless |first=Brian Edric |year=2010 |title=Proto-alphabetic Inscriptions from the Wadi Arabah |journal=Antiguo Oriente |volume=8 |pages=75–96 |s2cid=59462334}}
* {{Cite book |title=The world's writing systems |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-19-507993-7 |editor-last=Daniels |editor-first=Peter T. |editor-link=Peter T. Daniels |location=New York |editor-last2=Bright |editor-first2=William}}
* {{Cite book |last=Haarmann |first=Harald |title=Geschichte der Schrift |publisher=C. H. Beck |year=2004 |isbn=3-406-47998-7 |edition=2nd |location=Munich |language=de |trans-title=History of Writing}}
* {{Cite book |title=Reading the past: ancient writing from cuneiform to the alphabet |publisher=British Museum Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-7141-8077-9 |editor-last=Hooker |editor-first=J. T. |location=London |orig-date=1990}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ladefoged |first=Peter |last2=Disner |first2=Sandra Ferrari |title=Vowels and Consonants |publisher=Wiley |date=2012 |orig-date=2001 |edition=3rd |isbn=978-1-4443-3429-6}}
* {{Cite journal |last=McCarter |first=P. Kyle |year=1974 |title=The Early Diffusion of the Alphabet |journal=The Biblical Archaeologist |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=54–68 |doi=10.2307/3210965 |jstor=3210965 |s2cid=126182369}}
* {{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Andrew |title=The story of writing |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-500-28660-9 |edition=2nd |location=London |orig-date=1995}}

{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Colless |first=Brian E. |year=2014 |title=The Origin of the Alphabet |journal=Antiguo Oriente |volume=12 |pages=71–104}}
* {{Cite book |last=Coulmas |first=Florian |title=The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems |publisher=Blackwell |year=1996 |isbn=0-631-21481-X |location=Oxford}}
* {{Cite book |title=A history of the alphabet |publisher=Unwin |year=1977 |isbn=978-0-905418-12-4 |editor-last=Diringer |editor-first=David |editor-link=David Diringer |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Drucker |first=Johanna |title=Inventing the Alphabet |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-226-81581-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fischer |first=Steven Roger |title=A history of writing |publisher=Reaktion |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-78914-349-2 |edition=New |location=London |orig-date=2005}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hoffman |first=Joel M. |title=In the beginning: a short history of the Hebrew language |publisher=New York University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8147-3654-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Logan |first=Robert K. |title=The alphabet effect: a media ecology understanding of the making of Western civilization |publisher=Hampton |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57273-522-4 |location=Cresskill, NJ |orig-date=1986}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Millard |first=A. R. |year=1986 |title=The Infancy of the Alphabet |journal=World Archaeology |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=390–398 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1986.9979978 |jstor=124703}}
* {{Cite book |last=Naveh |first=Joseph |title=Early history of the alphabet: an introduction to west Semitic epigraphy and palaeography |publisher=Magnes |year=1997 |isbn=978-965-223-436-0 |edition=Reprint |location=Jerusalem |orig-date=1982}}
* {{Cite book |last=Powell |first=Barry B. |title=Homer and the origin of the Greek alphabet |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-521-37157-5}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Ullman |first=B. L. |year=1927 |title=The Origin and Development of the Alphabet |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=31 |issue=of 3 |pages=311–328 |doi=10.2307/497822 |issn=0002-9114 |jstor=497822}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20031218.shtml "The Alphabet&nbsp;– its creation and development"] on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s [[In Our Time (BBC Radio 4)|''In Our Time'']] featuring Eleanor Robson, Alan Millard, Rosalind Thomas
* [https://mnamon.sns.it/index.php?page=Home&lang=en Mnamon]
* [https://armstronginstitute.org/396-the-origins-of-the-alphabet The Origins of the Alphabet] on [https://armstronginstitute.org/ Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology]

{{Writing systems}}

[[Category:Alphabets|*]]
[[Category:History of writing|Alphabetic]]
[[Category:History by topic]]