View source for Latin script

{{Short description|Writing system based on the alphabet used by the Romans}}
{{For|the Latin script originally used by the ancient Romans to write Latin|Latin alphabet}}<!-- Do not put additional links in hatnotes -->
{{more footnotes needed|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox writing system
| name        = Latin
| altname     = Roman
| type        = [[Alphabet]]
| time        = {{nowrap|{{circa|700&nbsp;BC}}{{snd}}present}}
| fam1        = [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]]
| fam2        = [[Proto-Sinaitic script]]
| fam3        = [[Phoenician alphabet]]
| fam4        = [[Greek alphabet]]
| fam5        = [[Old Italic script]]
| fam6        = 
| sisters     = {{ubl| [[Glagolitic script]] | [[Cyrillic script]] | [[Armenian alphabet]] | [[Georgian scripts|Georgian script]] | [[Coptic alphabet]]|[[Runes]]}}
| children    = {{ubl|[[Fraser alphabet]] ([[Lisu language|Lisu]])|[[Osage script]]|(partially) several [[Phonetic transcription|phonetic alphabet]]s, such as [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]], which have been used to write languages with no native script|[[Deseret alphabet]]|(partially) [[Pollard script]] (Miao)|(partially) [[Woleai script|Caroline Island script (Woleaian)]]|(indirectly) [[Cherokee syllabary]]|(indirectly, partially) [[Yugtun script]]}}
| sample      = Abecedarium.svg
| imagesize   = 260px
| unicode     = See [[Latin characters in Unicode]]
| languages   = See [[List of Latin-script alphabets]]
| iso15924    = Latn
}}
The '''Latin script''', also known as the '''Roman script''', is a [[writing system]] based on the letters of the [[classical Latin alphabet]], derived from a form of the [[Greek alphabet]] which was in use in the ancient Greek city of [[Cumae]] in [[Magna Graecia]]. The Greek alphabet was altered by the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscans]], and subsequently their alphabet was altered by the [[Ancient Romans]]. Several [[Latin-script alphabet]]s exist, which differ in graphemes, collation and phonetic values from the classical Latin alphabet.

The Latin script is the basis of the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA), and the 26 most widespread letters are the letters contained in the [[ISO basic Latin alphabet]], which are the same letters as the [[English alphabet]].

Latin script is the basis for the largest number of alphabets of any writing system{{sfn|Haarmann|2004|p=96}} and is the [[List of writing systems by adoption|most widely adopted writing system]] in the world. Latin script is used as the standard method of writing the languages of Western and Central Europe, most of sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, and Oceania, as well as many languages in other parts of the world.

== Name ==
The script is either called Latin script or Roman script, in reference to its origin in [[ancient Rome]] (though some of the capital letters are Greek in origin). In the context of [[transliteration]], the term "[[romanization]]" ([[British English]]: "romanisation") is often found.<ref name="bsigroup">{{cite web |url=http://www.bsigroup.com/en/DualSearch/?q=romanization |title=Search results &#124; BSI Group |publisher=Bsigroup.com |access-date=12 May 2014 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="pcgn">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcgn.org.uk/Romanisation_systems.htm |title=Romanisation_systems |publisher=Pcgn.org.uk |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-date=27 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627005821/http://pcgn.org.uk/Romanisation_systems.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Unicode]] uses the term "Latin"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/iso15924/iso15924-en.html |title=ISO 15924 – Code List in English |publisher=Unicode.org |access-date=22 July 2013 |archive-date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526225316/http://www.unicode.org/iso15924/iso15924-en.html |url-status=live }}</ref> as does the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO).<ref name="iso">{{cite web |url=http://www.iso.org/iso/home/search.htm?qt=Latin&sort_by=rel&type=simple&published=on |title=Search – ISO |publisher=International Organization for Standardization |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-date=13 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513011039/http://www.iso.org/iso/home/search.htm?qt=Latin&sort_by=rel&type=simple&published=on |url-status=live }}</ref>

The numeral system is called the Roman numeral system, and the collection of the elements is known as the [[Roman numerals]]. The numbers 1, 2, 3 ... are Latin/Roman script numbers for the [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system]].
{{clear}}
==ISO basic Latin alphabet==
{{Main|ISO basic Latin alphabet}}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; table-layout:fixed"
|-
![[Upper case|Uppercase]] Latin alphabet
|[[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]]
|-
![[Lower case|Lowercase]] Latin alphabet
|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 use of the letters I and V for both consonants and vowels proved inconvenient as the Latin alphabet was adapted to Germanic and Romance languages. [[W]] originated as a doubled [[V]] (VV) used to represent the {{IPA symbol|w}} {{IPAslink|w}} found in [[Old English]] as early as the 7th century. It came into common use in the later 11th century, replacing the letter [[wynn]] {{angbr|Ƿ ƿ}}, which had been used for the same sound. In the Romance languages, the minuscule form of V was a rounded ''u''; from this was derived a rounded capital U for the vowel in the 16th century, while a new, pointed minuscule ''v'' was derived from V for the consonant. In the case of I, a word-final [[Swash (typography)|swash]] form, ''j'', came to be used for the consonant, with the unswashed form restricted to vowel use. Such conventions were erratic for centuries. J was introduced into English for the consonant in the 17th century (it had been rare as a vowel), but it was not universally considered a distinct letter in the alphabetic order until the 19th century.

By the 1960s, it became apparent to the computer and [[telecommunication]]s industries in the [[First World]] that a non-proprietary method of encoding characters was needed. The [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) encapsulated the Latin alphabet in their ([[ISO/IEC 646]]) standard. To achieve widespread acceptance, this encapsulation was based on popular usage. As the United States held a preeminent position in both industries during the 1960s, the standard was based on the already published ''American Standard Code for Information Interchange'', better known as [[ASCII]], which included in the [[Character encoding|character set]] the 26 × 2 (uppercase and lowercase) letters of the [[English alphabet]]. Later standards issued by the ISO, for example [[ISO/IEC 10646]] ([[Latin script in Unicode|Unicode Latin]]), have continued to define the 26 × 2 letters of the English alphabet as the basic Latin alphabet with extensions to handle other letters in other languages.

== Spread ==
[[File:Latin alphabet world distribution.svg|thumb|upright=2.05|The distribution of the Latin script. 
{{legend|#008000|Latin script is the sole official (or ''de facto'' official) national script.}}
{{legend|#00fc00|Latin script is a co-official script at the national level.}}
{{legend|#dae0da|Latin script is not officially used.}}
<br />Latin-script alphabets are sometimes extensively used in areas coloured grey due to the use of unofficial second languages, such as French in Morocco and English in Egypt, and to Latin transliteration of the official script, such as [[pinyin]] in China.]]
{{Main|Spread of the Latin script}}
The Latin alphabet spread, along with [[Latin]], from the [[Italian Peninsula]] to the lands surrounding the [[Mediterranean Sea]] with the expansion of the [[Roman Empire]]. The eastern half of the Empire, including Greece, Turkey, the [[Levant]], and Egypt, continued to use [[Greek language|Greek]] as a [[lingua franca]], but Latin was widely spoken in the western half, and as the western [[Romance languages]] evolved out of Latin, they continued to use and adapt the Latin alphabet.

=== Middle Ages ===
With the spread of [[Western Christianity]] during the [[Middle Ages]], the Latin alphabet was gradually adopted by the peoples of [[Northern Europe]] who spoke [[Insular Celtic languages|Celtic languages]] (displacing the [[Ogham]] alphabet) or [[Germanic languages]] (displacing earlier [[Runic alphabet]]s) or [[Baltic languages]], as well as by the speakers of several [[Uralic languages]], most notably [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Estonian language|Estonian]].

The Latin script also came into use for writing the [[West Slavic languages]] and several [[South Slavic languages]], as the people who spoke them adopted [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]]. The speakers of [[East Slavic languages]] generally adopted [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] along with [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]]. The [[Serbian language]] uses both scripts, with Cyrillic predominating in official communication and Latin elsewhere, as determined by the Law on Official Use of the Language and Alphabet.<ref name="ombudsman">{{cite web |url=http://www.ombudsman.rs/pravamanjina/attachments/ZAKON%20o%20sluzbenoj%20upotrebi%20jezika%20i%20pisma.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714223400/http://www.ombudsman.rs/pravamanjina/attachments/ZAKON%20o%20sluzbenoj%20upotrebi%20jezika%20i%20pisma.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 July 2014 |date=17 May 2010 |title=Zakon O Službenoj Upotrebi Jezika I Pisama |publisher=Ombudsman.rs |access-date=5 July 2014 }}</ref>

=== Since the 16th century ===
As late as 1500, the Latin script was limited primarily to the languages spoken in [[Western Europe|Western]], [[Northern Europe|Northern]], and [[Central Europe]]. The Orthodox Christian Slavs of [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] and [[Southeastern Europe]] mostly used [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]], and the Greek alphabet was in use by Greek speakers around the eastern Mediterranean. The [[Arabic script]] was widespread within Islam, both among [[Arab]]s and non-Arab nations like the [[Iranian peoples|Iranians]], [[Ethnic groups in Indonesia|Indonesians]], [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malays]], and [[Turkic peoples]]. Most of the rest of Asia used a variety of [[Brahmic family|Brahmic alphabets]] or the [[Chinese script]].

Through [[European colonization]] the Latin script has spread to the [[Americas]], [[Oceania]], parts of Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, in forms based on the [[Spanish alphabet|Spanish]], [[Portuguese alphabet|Portuguese]], [[English alphabet|English]], [[French alphabet|French]], [[German alphabet|German]] and [[Dutch alphabet|Dutch]] alphabets.

It is used for many [[Austronesian languages]], including the [[languages of the Philippines]] and the [[Malaysian language|Malaysian]] and [[Indonesian language]]s, replacing earlier Arabic and indigenous Brahmic alphabets. Latin letters served as the basis for the forms of the [[Cherokee syllabary]] developed by [[Sequoyah]]; however, the sound values are completely different.{{Citation needed|date=April 2015}}

Under Portuguese missionary influence, a Latin alphabet was devised for the [[Vietnamese language]], which had previously used [[Chu nom|Chinese characters]].  The Latin-based alphabet replaced the Chinese characters in administration in the 19th century with French rule.

=== Since the 19th century ===
In the late 19th century, the [[Romanians]] returned to the Latin alphabet, dropping the [[Romanian Cyrillic alphabet]]. [[Romanian language|Romanian]] is one of the [[Romance language]]s.

=== Since 20th century ===
In 1928, as part of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]'s reforms, the new [[Turkey|Republic of Turkey]] adopted a Latin alphabet for the [[Turkish language]], replacing a modified Arabic alphabet. Most of the [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]-speaking peoples of the former [[Soviet Union|USSR]], including [[Tatars]], [[Bashkirs]], [[Azeri language|Azeri]], [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]], [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] and others, had their writing systems replaced by the Latin-based [[Uniform Turkic alphabet]] in the 1930s; but, in the 1940s, all were replaced by Cyrillic.

After the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|collapse of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, three of the newly independent Turkic-speaking republics, [[Azerbaijan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], as well as Romanian-speaking [[Moldova]], officially adopted Latin alphabets for their languages. [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Iranian languages|Iranian]]-speaking [[Tajikistan]], and the breakaway region of [[Transnistria]] kept the Cyrillic alphabet, chiefly due to their close ties with Russia.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the majority of [[Kurds]] replaced the Arabic script with two Latin alphabets. Although only the official [[Kurdistan Regional Government|Kurdish government]] uses an Arabic alphabet for public documents, the Latin Kurdish alphabet remains widely used throughout the region by the majority of [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]]-speakers.

In 1957, the [[China|People's Republic of China]] introduced a script reform to the [[Standard Zhuang|Zhuang language]], changing its orthography from [[Sawndip]], a writing system based on Chinese, to a Latin script alphabet that used a mixture of Latin, Cyrillic, and IPA letters to represent both the phonemes and tones of the Zhuang language, without the use of diacritics. In 1982 this was further standardised to use only Latin script letters.

With the collapse of the [[Derg]] and subsequent end of decades of [[Amharic]] assimilation in 1991, various ethnic groups in [[Ethiopia]] dropped the [[Geʽez script]], which was deemed unsuitable for languages outside of the [[Semitic languages|Semitic branch]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Lahra |date=2013 |title=Review of ''Making Citizens in Africa: Ethnicity, Gender, and National Identity in Ethiopia'' |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00083968.2015.1067017?journalCode=rcas20 |journal=African Studies |volume=125 |issue=3 |pages=542–544 |doi=10.1080/00083968.2015.1067017 |via=Taylor & Francis |s2cid=148544393 |access-date=16 November 2021 |archive-date=16 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116213420/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00083968.2015.1067017?journalCode=rcas20 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In the following years the [[Kafa language|Kafa]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Pütz|first=Martin|title=Language Choices: Conditions, constraints, and consequences|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|year=1997|isbn=9789027275844|pages=216}}</ref> [[Oromo language|Oromo]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gemeda|first=Guluma|date=18 June 2018|title=The History and Politics of the Qubee Alphabet|url=https://ayyaantuu.org/history-politics-qubee-alphabet/|access-date=16 November 2021|website=Ayyaantuu|archive-date=16 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116213421/https://ayyaantuu.org/history-politics-qubee-alphabet/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Sidama language|Sidama]],<ref name="Mekonnen">{{Cite journal|last=Yohannes|first=Mekonnen|date=2021|title=Language Policy in Ethiopia: The Interplay Between Policy and Practice in Tigray Regional State|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-63904-4|journal=Language Policy|volume=24|pages=33|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-63904-4|isbn=978-3-030-63903-7|s2cid=234114762|via=Springer Link|access-date=16 November 2021|archive-date=22 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222143124/http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-63904-4|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Somali language|Somali]],<ref name="Mekonnen"/> and [[Wolaitta language|Wolaitta]]<ref name="Mekonnen"/> languages switched to Latin while there is continued debate on whether to follow suit for the [[Hadiyya language|Hadiyya]] and [[Kambaata language|Kambaata]] languages.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pasch|first=Helma|date=2008|title=Competing scripts: The Introduction of the Roman Alphabet in Africa|url=https://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/5669/1/competing_scripts.pdf|journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language|issue=191|pages=8|via=ResearchGate|access-date=16 November 2021|archive-date=16 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116213424/https://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/5669/1/competing_scripts.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
On 15 September 1999 the authorities of [[Tatarstan]], Russia, passed a law to make the Latin script a co-official writing system alongside Cyrillic for the [[Tatar language]] by 2011.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Andrews|first=Ernest|title=Language Planning in the Post-Communist Era: The Struggles for Language Control in the New Order in Eastern Europe, Eurasia and China|publisher=Springer|year=2018|isbn=978-3-319-70926-0|pages=132}}</ref> A year later, however, the Russian government overruled the law and banned Latinization on its territory.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Faller|first=Helen|title=Nation, Language, Islam: Tatarstan's Sovereignty Movement|publisher=Central European University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-963-9776-84-5|pages=131}}</ref>

In 2015, the [[government of Kazakhstan]] announced that a [[Kazakh alphabets#Latin script|Kazakh Latin alphabet]] would replace the [[Kazakh alphabets#Cyrillic script|Kazakh Cyrillic alphabet]] as the official writing system for the [[Kazakh language]] by 2025.<ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.inform.kz/eng/article/2741711 |title=Kazakh language to be converted to Latin alphabet – MCS RK |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219113151/http://www.inform.kz/en/kazakh-language-to-be-converted-to-latin-alphabet-mcs-rk_a2741711 |archive-date=19 February 2017 |website=Kazinform |date=30 January 2015 |access-date=28 September 2015}}</ref> There are also talks about switching from the Cyrillic script to Latin in Ukraine,<ref>{{cite web|title=Klimkin welcomes discussion on switching to Latin alphabet in Ukraine|url=https://www.unian.info/society/10058741-klimkin-welcomes-discussion-on-switching-to-latin-alphabet-in-ukraine.html|website=UNIAN |date=27 March 2018 |access-date=5 August 2019|archive-date=3 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003153238/https://www.unian.info/society/10058741-klimkin-welcomes-discussion-on-switching-to-latin-alphabet-in-ukraine.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Kyrgyzstan]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Moscow Bribes Bishkek to Stop Kyrgyzstan From Changing to Latin Alphabet|url=https://jamestown.org/program/moscow-bribes-bishkek-stop-kyrgyzstan-changing-latin-alphabet/ |first1=Paul |last1=Goble |date=12 October 2017 |newspaper=Jamestown|access-date=5 August 2019|archive-date=21 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221084805/https://jamestown.org/program/moscow-bribes-bishkek-stop-kyrgyzstan-changing-latin-alphabet/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kyrgyzstan: Latin (alphabet) fever takes hold|url=https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyzstan-latin-alphabet-fever-takes-hold|website=Eurasianet |date=13 September 2019 |first1=Chris |last1=Rickleton |access-date=16 September 2019|archive-date=2 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702234521/https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyzstan-latin-alphabet-fever-takes-hold|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Mongolia]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Russian Influence in Mongolia is Declining|url=https://globalsecurityreview.com/decline-russian-influence-mongolia/|website=Global Security Review |first1=Nikola |last1=Mikovic |date=2 March 2019|access-date=5 August 2019|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224235429/https://globalsecurityreview.com/decline-russian-influence-mongolia/|url-status=live}}</ref> Mongolia, however, has since opted to revive the [[Mongolian script]] instead of switching to Latin.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Tang|first=Didi|date=20 March 2020|title=Mongolia abandons Soviet past by restoring alphabet|language=en|work=[[The Times]]|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/mongolia-abandons-soviet-past-by-restoring-alphabet-rsvcgqmxd|access-date=2 March 2021|issn=0140-0460|archive-date=22 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422213426/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mongolia-abandons-soviet-past-by-restoring-alphabet-rsvcgqmxd|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2019, [[Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami]] (ITK), the national organization for [[Inuit]] in Canada announced that they will introduce a unified writing system for the [[Inuit languages]] in the country. The writing system is based on the Latin alphabet and is modeled after the one used in the [[Greenlandic language]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Canadian Inuit Get Common Written Language|url=https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/canadian-inuit-get-common-written-language|website=High North News (8 October 2019)|access-date=8 October 2019|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817224216/https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/canadian-inuit-get-common-written-language|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 12 February 2021 the government of Uzbekistan announced it will finalize the transition from Cyrillic to Latin for the [[Uzbek language]] by 2023. Plans to switch to Latin originally began in 1993 but subsequently stalled and Cyrillic remained in widespread use.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sands|first=David|date=12 February 2021|title=Latin lives! Uzbeks prepare latest switch to Western-based alphabet|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/feb/12/latin-lives-uzbeks-prepare-latest-switch-western-b/|access-date=15 February 2021|website=The Washington Times|language=en-US|archive-date=15 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215070537/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/feb/12/latin-lives-uzbeks-prepare-latest-switch-western-b/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=12 February 2021|title=Uzbekistan Aims For Full Transition To Latin-Based Alphabet By 2023|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-aims-for-full-transition-to-latin-based-alphabet-by-2023/31099723.html|access-date=15 February 2021|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|language=en|archive-date=31 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231190936/https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-aims-for-full-transition-to-latin-based-alphabet-by-2023/31099723.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

At present the [[Crimean Tatar language]] uses both Cyrillic and Latin. The use of Latin was originally approved by Crimean Tatar representatives after the Soviet Union's collapse<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kuzio|first=Taras|title=Ukraine - Crimea - Russia: Triangle of Conflict|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-3-8382-5761-7|pages=106}}</ref> but was never implemented by the regional government. After Russia's [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|annexation]] of Crimea in 2014 the Latin script was dropped entirely. Nevertheless, Crimean Tatars outside of Crimea continue to use Latin and on 22 October 2021 the government of Ukraine approved a proposal endorsed by the [[Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People]] to switch the Crimean Tatar language to Latin by 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|date=22 October 2021|title=Cabinet approves Crimean Tatar alphabet based on Latin letters|url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3320261-cabinet-approves-crimean-tatar-alphabet-based-on-latin-letters.html|access-date=17 November 2021|website=Ukrinform|archive-date=7 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007222002/https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3320261-cabinet-approves-crimean-tatar-alphabet-based-on-latin-letters.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2020, 2.6 billion people (36% of the world population) use the Latin alphabet.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The world's scripts and alphabets|url=https://www.worldstandards.eu/other/alphabets/|access-date=11 August 2020|website=WorldStandards|language=en-GB|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809025745/https://www.worldstandards.eu/other/alphabets/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== International standards ==
{{Main|ISO basic Latin alphabet|Latin script in Unicode}}
By the 1960s, it became apparent to the computer and [[telecommunication]]s industries in the [[First World]] that a non-proprietary method of encoding characters was needed. The [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) encapsulated the Latin alphabet in their ([[ISO/IEC 646]]) standard. To achieve widespread acceptance, this encapsulation was based on popular usage.

As the United States held a preeminent position in both industries during the 1960s, the standard was based on the already published ''American Standard Code for Information Interchange'', better known as [[ASCII]], which included in the [[Character encoding|character set]] the 26 × 2 (uppercase and lowercase) letters of the [[English alphabet]]. Later standards issued by the ISO, for example [[ISO/IEC 10646]] ([[Latin characters in Unicode|Unicode Latin]]), have continued to define the 26 × 2 letters of the English alphabet as the basic Latin alphabet with extensions to handle other letters in other languages.

== National standards ==
The DIN standard [[DIN 91379]] specifies a subset of Unicode letters, special characters, and sequences of letters and diacritic signs to allow the correct representation of names and to simplify data exchange in Europe. This specification supports all official languages of [[European Union]] and [[European Free Trade Association]] countries (thus also the Greek and [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] scripts), plus the [[Germany#Languages|German minority languages]].{{clarify|date=July 2023}} To allow the transliteration of names in other writing systems to the Latin script according to the relevant ISO standards, all necessary combinations of base letters and diacritic signs are provided.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.beuth.de/de/norm/din-91379/353496133|title=DIN 91379:2022-08: Characters and defined character sequences in Unicode for the electronic processing of names and data exchange in Europe, with CD-ROM|publisher=Beuth Verlag|access-date=19 August 2022|archive-date=19 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819115132/https://www.beuth.de/de/norm/din-91379/353496133|url-status=live}}</ref>
Efforts are being made to further develop it into a European [[European Committee for Standardization|CEN]] standard.<ref name="stringlatin12">{{cite web |url=https://www.xoev.de/downloads-2316#StringLatin |title=String.Latin+ 1.2: eine kommentierte und erweiterte Fassung der DIN SPEC 91379. Inklusive einer umfangreichen Liste häufig gestellter Fragen. Herausgegeben von der Fachgruppe String.Latin. (zip, 1.7 MB) |trans-title=String.Latin+ 1.2: Commented and extended version of DIN SPEC 91379. |author=Koordinierungsstelle für IT-Standards (KoSIT) |access-date=19 March 2022 |language=de |archive-date=19 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119123532/https://www.xoev.de/downloads-2316#StringLatin |url-status=live }}</ref>

== As used by various languages ==
{{Main|Latin-script alphabet}}
In the course of its use, the Latin alphabet was adapted for use in new languages, sometimes representing [[phoneme]]s not found in languages that were already written with the Roman characters. To represent these new sounds, extensions were therefore created, be it by adding [[diacritic]]s to existing [[letter (alphabet)|letters]], by joining multiple letters together to make [[ligature (typography)|ligatures]], by creating completely new forms, or by assigning a special function to pairs or triplets of letters. These new forms are given a place in the alphabet by defining an [[collation|alphabetical order]] or collation sequence, which can vary with the particular language.

=== Letters ===
{{Main list|List of Latin-script letters}}

Some examples of new letters to the standard Latin alphabet are the [[Runic alphabet|Runic]] letters [[wynn]] {{angle bracket|Ƿ ƿ}} and [[thorn (letter)|thorn]] {{angle bracket|Þ þ}}, and the letter [[eth]] {{angle bracket|Ð/ð}}, which were added to the alphabet of [[Old English]]. Another Irish letter, the [[Insular G|insular ''g'']], developed into [[yogh]] {{angle bracket|Ȝ ȝ}}, used in [[Middle English]]. Wynn was later replaced with the new letter {{angle bracket|w}}, eth and thorn with {{angle bracket|[[Pronunciation of English th|th]]}}, and yogh with {{angle bracket|[[Gh (digraph)|gh]]}}. Although the four are no longer part of the English or Irish alphabets, eth and thorn are still used in the modern [[Icelandic orthography|Icelandic alphabet]], while eth is also used by the [[Faroese alphabet]].

Some West, Central and [[Southern Africa]]n languages use a few additional letters that have sound values similar to those of their equivalents in the IPA. For example, [[Adangme language|Adangme]] uses the letters {{angle bracket|Ɛ ɛ}} and {{angle bracket|Ɔ ɔ}}, and [[Ga language|Ga]] uses {{angle bracket|Ɛ ɛ}}, {{angle bracket|Ŋ ŋ}} and {{angle bracket|Ɔ ɔ}}. [[Hausa language|Hausa]] uses {{angle bracket|Ɓ ɓ}} and {{angle bracket|Ɗ ɗ}} for [[implosive consonant|implosives]], and {{angle bracket|Ƙ ƙ}} for an [[ejective consonant|ejective]]. [[African studies|Africanists]] have standardized these into the [[African reference alphabet]].

[[İ|Dotted]] and [[dotless I]] — {{Angle bracket|İ i}} and {{Angle bracket|I ı}} — are two forms of the letter I used by the [[Turkish alphabet|Turkish]], [[Azerbaijani alphabet|Azerbaijani]], and [[Kazakh alphabets|Kazakh]] alphabets.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Localize Your Font: Turkish i|url=https://glyphsapp.com/learn/localize-your-font-turkish|access-date=28 January 2021|website=Glyphs|language=en-US|archive-date=28 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128030405/https://glyphsapp.com/learn/localize-your-font-turkish|url-status=live}}</ref> The Azerbaijani language also has {{angbr|Ə ə}}, which represents the [[near-open front unrounded vowel]].

=== Multigraphs ===
{{Main|Latin-script multigraph}}
A [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]] is a pair of letters used to write one sound or a combination of sounds that does not correspond to the written letters in sequence. Examples are {{angle bracket|[[Ch (digraph)|ch]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[Eng (letter)|ng]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[Rh (digraph)|rh]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[Sh (digraph)|sh]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[Phi|ph]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[Pronunciation of English th|th]]}}  in English, and {{angle bracket|[[IJ (digraph)|ij]]}}, {{angle bracket|ee}}, {{angle bracket|[[Ch (digraph)#German|ch]]}} and {{angbr|ei}} in Dutch. In Dutch the {{angle bracket|ij}} is capitalized as {{angle bracket|IJ}} or the [[Ligature (typography)|ligature]] {{angle bracket|Ĳ}}, but never as {{angle bracket|Ij}}, and it often takes the appearance of a ligature {{angle bracket|ĳ}} very similar to the letter {{angle bracket|ÿ}} in [[handwriting]].

A [[trigraph (orthography)|trigraph]] is made up of three letters, like the [[German language|German]] {{angle bracket|[[Sch (trigraph)|sch]]}}, the [[Breton language|Breton]] {{angle bracket|[[C'h (trigraph)|c'h]]}} or the [[Milanese]] {{angle bracket|oeu}}. In the [[orthography|orthographies]] of some languages, digraphs and trigraphs are regarded as independent letters of the alphabet in their own right. The capitalization of digraphs and trigraphs is language-dependent, as only the first letter may be capitalized, or all component letters simultaneously (even for words written in title case, where letters after the digraph or trigraph are left in lowercase).

=== Ligatures ===
{{Main|Ligature (typography)}}
A [[ligature (typography)|ligature]] is a fusion of two or more ordinary letters into a new [[glyph]] or character. Examples are {{angle bracket|[[Æ]] æ}} (from {{angle bracket|AE}}, called ''ash''), {{angle bracket|[[Œ]] œ}} (from {{angle bracket|OE}}, sometimes called ''oethel'' or ''eðel''), the [[abbreviation]] {{angle bracket|[[&]]}} (from {{langx|la|et||and}}, called ''ampersand''), and {{angle bracket|[[ẞ]] [[ß]]}} (from {{angle bracket|ſʒ}} or {{angle bracket|ſs}}, the [[Long s|archaic medial form of {{angle bracket|s}}]], followed by an {{angle bracket|[[ʒ]]}} or {{angle bracket|s}}, called ''sharp S'' or ''eszett'').

=== Diacritics ===
[[File:Small a with acute.svg|thumb|upright=0.25|The letter {{angle bracket|[[a]]}} with an [[acute accent|acute]] [[diacritic]]]]
{{Main|Diacritic}}

A diacritic, in some cases also called an accent, is a small symbol that can appear above or below a letter, or in some other position, such as the [[umlaut (diacritic)|umlaut sign]] used in the German characters {{angle bracket|[[ä]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[ö]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[ü]]}} or the Romanian characters [[ă]], [[â]], [[î]], [[S-comma|ș]], [[T-comma|ț]]. Its main function is to change the phonetic value of the letter to which it is added, but it may also modify the pronunciation of a whole syllable or word, indicate the start of a new syllable, or distinguish between [[homonym|homographs]] such as the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] words ''[[wikt:een|een]]'' ({{IPA|nl|ən|pron}}) meaning "a" or "an", and ''[[wikt:één|één]]'', ({{IPA|nl|e:n|pron}}) meaning "one". As with the pronunciation of letters, the effect of diacritics is language-dependent.

English is the only major modern [[Languages of Europe|European language]] that requires no diacritics for its native vocabulary{{NoteTag|In formal English writing, however, diacritics are often preserved on many loanwords, such as "café", "[[Naivety|naïve]]", "[[façade]]", "[[jalapeño]]" or the German prefix "[[über]]-".}}. Historically, in formal writing, a [[diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis]] was sometimes used to indicate the start of a new syllable within a sequence of letters that could otherwise be misinterpreted as being a single vowel (e.g., "coöperative", "reëlect"), but modern writing styles either omit such marks or use a hyphen to indicate a syllable break (e.g. "co-operative", "re-elect"). {{NoteTag|As an example, an article containing a [[diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis]] in "coöperate" and a [[cedilla]] in "façade" as well as a [[circumflex]] in the word "crêpe": {{cite magazine |first = Anthony |last = Grafton |url = http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/10/23/061023crbo_books?currentPage=all |title = Books: The Nutty Professors, The history of academic charisma |date = 23 October 2006 |magazine = [[The New Yorker]] }}}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 December 2010 |title=The New Yorker's odd mark — the diaeresis |url=http://dscriber.com/news/121-the-new-yorkers-odd-mark-the-diaeresis |access-date=8 March 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216160024/http://dscriber.com/news/121-the-new-yorkers-odd-mark-the-diaeresis |archive-date=16 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Collation ===
{{Main|Collating sequence}}
Some modified letters, such as the symbols {{angle bracket|[[å]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[ä]]}}, and {{angle bracket|[[ö]]}}, may be regarded as new individual letters in themselves, and assigned a specific place in the alphabet for [[collation]] purposes, separate from that of the letter on which they are based, as is done in [[Swedish alphabet|Swedish]]. In other cases, such as with {{angle bracket|[[ä]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[ö]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[ü]]}} in German, this is not done; letter-diacritic combinations being identified with their base letter. The same applies to digraphs and trigraphs. Different diacritics may be treated differently in collation within a single language. For example, in Spanish, the character {{angle bracket|[[ñ]]}} is considered a letter, and sorted between {{angle bracket|[[n]]}} and {{angle bracket|[[o]]}} in dictionaries, but the accented vowels {{angle bracket|[[á]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[é]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[í]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[ó]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[ú]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[ü]]}} are not separated from the unaccented vowels {{angle bracket|[[a]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[e]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[i]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[o]]}}, {{angle bracket|[[u]]}}.

=== Capitalization ===
{{Main|Letter case}}
The languages that use the Latin script today generally use [[capital letters]] to begin paragraphs and sentences and [[Noun#Proper nouns and common nouns|proper nouns]]. The rules for [[capitalization]] have changed over time, and different languages have varied in their rules for capitalization. [[Old English language|Old English]], for example, was rarely written with even proper nouns capitalized; whereas [[Modern English]] of the 18th century had frequently all nouns capitalized, in the same way that Modern [[German language|German]] is written today, e.g. {{langx|de|Alle Schwestern der alten Stadt hatten die Vögel gesehen||All of the Sisters of the old City had seen the Birds}}.

== Romanization ==
{{Main|Romanization}}

Words from languages natively written with other [[Writing system|scripts]], such as [[Romanization of Arabic|Arabic]] or [[Romanization of Chinese|Chinese]], are usually [[transliteration|transliterated]] or [[Transcription (linguistics)|transcribed]] when embedded in Latin-script text or in [[Multilingualism|multilingual]] international communication, a process termed ''romanization''.

Whilst the romanization of such languages is used mostly at unofficial levels, it has been especially prominent in computer messaging where only the limited seven-bit [[ASCII]] code is available on older systems. However, with the introduction of [[Unicode]], romanization is now becoming less necessary. Keyboards used to enter such text may still restrict users to romanized text, as only ASCII or Latin-alphabet characters may be available.

== See also ==
* [[Western Latin character sets (computing)]]
* [[DIN 91379|European Latin Unicode subset (DIN 91379)]]
* [[H with left hook]]
* [[Latin letters used in mathematics]]
* [[Latin omega]]

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last = Haarmann |first = Harald |title = Geschichte der Schrift |trans-title = History of Writing |language = de |publisher = C. H. Beck |location = München |edition = 2nd |year = 2004 |isbn = 978-3-406-47998-4 }}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Boyle, Leonard E. 1976. "Optimist and recensionist: 'Common errors' or 'common variations.{{' "}} In ''Latin script and letters A.D. 400–900: Festschrift presented to Ludwig Bieler on the occasion of his 70th birthday.'' Edited by John J. O'Meara and Bernd Naumann, 264–74. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
* Morison, Stanley. 1972. ''Politics and script: Aspects of authority and freedom in the development of Graeco-Latin script from the sixth century B.C. to the twentieth century A.D.'' Oxford: Clarendon.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Latin alphabet}}
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Latin script |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* [http://www.unicode.org/charts/collation/ Unicode collation chart]—Latin letters sorted by shape
* [http://diacritics.typo.cz/ Diacritics Project{{snd}}All you need to design a font with correct accents]

{{Latin script}}
{{List of writing systems}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Latin script| ]]
[[Category:History of the Roman Republic]]