HISTORY OF ENGLISH ALPHABET.

HISTORY OF ENGLISH ALPHABET.

The so called Indo-European family of languages are a myth as can be proved from a cursory look at the origin of the language and grammatical patterns of Sanskrit and other members of the so-called Indo-European family. For example, according to the European theory of linguistics, language developed slowly from sounds such as grunts, barks, and hoots made by pre-human creatures. This simple system of vocal communication became more coordinated and became language as the human brain and speech organs developed. This theory is based on the theory of evolution of intelligence, which has not been proved. In fact, there are proofs to the contrary. Even the theory of Evolution has not been proved scientifically. It is still a hypothesis.

On the contrary, Indian linguists accept the gradual evolution of species in a natural sequential manner from the simplest to the complicated life forms due to increasing combinations of different materials that constitute the body. Man being the most evolved of all species came last. Just as the hydrogen atoms combine to form helium atoms and so on but stop at iron, similarly, the evolution of life form stopped at man as it is the most balanced of all species. While food, sleep, fear and reproduction are common to man and other life forms, language based on intelligence is the only difference that separates human beings from animals.

Language is not a mere collection of sounds in a proper sequence, but has a scientific base on which the meaning assigned to it is built. It is the transposition of one’s thought on another person or system’s mind/CPU. Panini starts his book on grammar with “a” in Sanskrit as it is the only sound which is generated when the vocal chords are in their natural position and the air heated up with the desire to communicate rises up and comes out through the vocal chords without touching any other part inside the mouth. In the case of other letters, the vocal chords are contracted/strained and the resultant air changes direction to touch various body parts inside the mouth including the nose. He has shown how the other letters are a modification of the letter “a” in Sanskrit. Thus, he has proved the pivotal position of this letter. The mouth opens up with the lips in a circular fashion while uttering the letter “a” in Sanskrit. Thus, the script of “a” in Sanskrit as well as in all Indian languages has a circle with a staff as symbolic of the letter. Similarly, since the circle is endless, the letter symbolizes infinite, endlessness etc. Since every letter is derived from it, there is nothing before it. Hence, wherever any word is preceded by this letter, it conveys the negation of that word or the opposite meaning. He goes on to describe the construction of each and every word and sentences in Sanskrit based on the same scientific logic. Such scientific language can be conveyed only by human beings. Thus the European linguists, either knowingly or unknowingly ignored Sanskrit grammar to expose their ignorance.

The similar hypocrisy or ignorant boast also runs in the classification of other language families. For example, it is universally accepted that the Greeks accepted the Semitic script through the Phoenicians. Then, there would have been more interaction between the two languages. The Hebrew and the Yiddish languages would have influenced the Greek language, as its influence over European languages is still perceptible. The Biblical poem “The Song of Deborah” (Judg.5) is a song in Hebrew language dating back to the twelfth Century BC. The accounts of such travelers as Eldad the Danite and Benjamin of Tudela speak much about the influence of the Hebrews. The Yosippon and other anonymous works combine Jewish history with thrilling legends. Talmud, a collection of Jewish oral laws with the interpretation of the scholars and Piyyutim, Jewish prayers composed for religious services have its indelible imprint on European and Christian culture. Then how is it that Arabic and Hebrew has been classified as belonging to Afro-Asian family and not Indo-European family? Only to separate it so that the theory of European supremacy could be manipulated?

Stark ignorance is the cause for the classification of Malayo-Polynesian family and Japanese and Korean family. The former developed as a mixture of East/South Indian and Chinese languages as people from these areas settled in those countries, first for trade and commerce and subsequently for permanent settlement. The so-called Chinese and Korean family of languages is a derivative of Japanese and not a separate Family. Possibly it was classified as a family not due to linguistic reasons, but due to ignorance.

The history of the origin of the present English alphabet is presented below:

A-    This is the third most used letter in English alphabet. The first letter of the North West branch of Semites, who lived in Syria and Palestine and spoke Hebrew language, was called אּ-aleph, meaning Ox. They used the Egyptian hieroglyphic form for an Ox to represent this letter. The ancient Greeks later used this symbol and called it  - alpha. The Roman’s gave the letter its present form.

 B- This is the 20th most used letter in English alphabet. It was the second letter of Hebrew speaking Semites, who called it בּ-beth, meaning house. The Greeks borrowed the letter from the Phoenicians and called it  - Beta.

C-    This is the 13th most used letter in English alphabet. The third letter of the Hebrew speaking Semites was called גּ-gimel meaning a throwing stick. The Greeks borrowed it and called  - gamma. The Romans changed the boomerang shape of the letter to the capital C form and used to indicate two words, g and k with it. Finally they made it two words by adding a stroke to C to make it G.

D-    This is the 10th most used letter in English alphabet. The fourth letter of the Hebrew speaking Semites was called דּ-daleth, meaning door. The Greeks and Romans used it as  - delta, which became d.

E-    This is the most used letter in English alphabet. The fifth letter of the Hebrew speaking Semites was called הּ-he, which was written with the Egyptian picture symbol of a man rejoicing beginning a shout of hallelujah (Praise Ye the Lord!) The Greeks named it  - epsilon and gave the sound of e. The Romans gave the E its present form.

F-    This is the 15th most used letter in English alphabet. Some hold the view that it came from the sixth letter meaning hook of the Hebrew speaking Semites called וּ-vav, and the 27th letter of the Central and South branch of Semites speaking Arabic called و -waw. However, it is more likely that it has come from the 20th letter of the Arabic script ف fa. The ancient Greeks called it digamma to sound as w in present English. The Romans made it the present f.

G-    This is the 16th most used letter in English alphabet. One view of its origin has been explained while explaining the origin of C. However, it is more likely that it has come from the 19th letter of the Central and South branch of Semites speaking Arabic غ – ghain. The Romans gave it the present form.

H-              This is the 9th most used letter in English alphabet. The Hebrew speaking Semites named their eighth letter ח-cheth by adopting a picture symbol for a twisted hank of rope to represent the letter. The Greeks borrowed it and called  - eta by giving the sound of long e. The Romans gave it the present capital form and sound of H.

I-    This is the 7th most used letter in English alphabet. The tenth letter of the Hebrew speaking Semites and the Phoenicians was called י -yod representing hand. The Greeks called it ι-iota. This became the English i.

J-    This is the 24th most used letter in English alphabet. There are two versions of the origin of this letter. According to one version, the tenth letter of the Hebrew speaking Semites was י -yod. The Greeks borrowed the word and passed on to Romans. In the late middle ages, when two or more י -yods were written together, scribes often added a long tail to the last one. Later the tail was used to indicate an initial l. During the seventeenth century, an i at the beginning of a word was written with a tail. The present j developed from these forms. However, the above version is not correct. The letter originated from the fifth letter of the Arabic script ج – jim.

K-    This is the 22nd most used letter in English language. The letter of the Hebrew speaking Semites for palm of the hand was called כ or ך (at the end of the word) kaph. The ancient Greeks called it  - Kappa and gave it the present form. The Romans borrowed it from the Greeks.

L-    This is the 11th most used letter in English language. The Hebrew speaking Semites word for goad or crooked staff was called ל - lamed. The ancient Greeks took it and called it λ - lambda. Later the Romans gave it the present form. 

M-    This is the 14th most used letter in English alphabet. The 13th letter of the Hebrew speaking Semites was ם (at the end of the word) or מ mem, meaning water. The Greeks called it  - Mu. The Romans gave it the present form.

N-    This is the 5th most used letter in English alphabet. The 14th letter of the Hebrew speaking Semites was called ן (at the end of the word) or נ - nun meaning fish. The Greeks took the letter from Phoenicians and called it ν - nu. The Romans gave it the present form.

O-    This is the 4th most used letter in English alphabet. The sixteenth letter of the Semites for eye was called ע - ayin. The Phoenicians borrowed the stylized eye from the Semites. The Greeks borrowed it from Phoenicians and called it ο - micron. The Romans borrowed it from the Greeks.

P-    This is the 18th most used letter in English alphabet. The letter ף (at the end of the word) or פ pe in the alphabet of the Hebrew speaking Semites meant mouth. The Greeks borrowed it and called  - pi. The Romans changed it to the present form.

Q-    This is the 25th most used letter in English alphabet. The nineteenth letter ק -qoph in the alphabet of the Hebrew speaking Semites meaning ape or monkey and the 21st letter of the Arabic script ق - qaf were borrowed by the Greeks, who called it κ Kappa. The Romans gave it the present shape and introduced the usage of u after q.

R-    This is the 6th most used letter in English alphabet. The twentieth letter ר - resh in the alphabet of the Hebrew speaking Semites meaning head was borrowed by the Greeks, who called it  - rho. The Romans gave it the present form.

S-    This is the 8th most used letter in English alphabet. The twenty-first letter ש -‘shin’ in the alphabet of the Hebrew speaking Semites meaning tooth was borrowed by the Phoenicians, who gave it a regular shape. The Greeks turned it on its side to bring in the present shape.

T-    This is the 2nd most used letter in English alphabet. The last letter ת -‘tav’ in the alphabet of the Hebrew speaking Semites meaning mark was borrowed by the Greeks through Phoenicians. They changed the cross-shaped mark by moving the cross bar to the top of the vertical stroke and called it τ - tau. The Romans borrowed it from

U-    This is the 12th most used letter in English alphabet. Some hold the view that the Hebrew speaking Semites letter waw is the source of the letters F, U, V, W and Y. The Greeks gave it a Y-shape. The Romans dropped the bottom stroke and wrote it as V. They used it for the vowel sound U and consonant sound V. During tenth century, U and V were used to be written in the middle and the beginning respectively. During Renaissance, it became customary to use U as a vowel and V as a consonant.

V-    This is the 21st most used letter in English alphabet. One view on the origin of this letter has been explained above and is the same as for U. However, there are contrary views, as these changes were not accepted for several hundred years. It is more likely that it came from the sixth letter of the Hebrew speaking Semites called וּ-vav meaning hook or the 27th letter of the Arabic alphabet و –waw.

W -   This is the 19th most used letter in English alphabet. The origin of this letter is explained as the same as for V. One view is that during the eleventh century, the French scribes doubled the V as VV, in order to write the Anglo-Saxon letter ‘wen’ as they did not have an alphabet for it. The VV was also written in a rounded form UU. This came to be known as ‘double U’ and was written as W in English.

X-    This is the 23rd most used letter in English alphabet. The Hebrew speaking Semites letter ‘samekh’ was borrowed by the Phoenicians, who used a symbol signifying a support. The Greeks borrowed this letter and used it to sound like kh or ks. The Romans gave it the present form.

Y-    This is the 17th most used letter in English alphabet. The origin of this letter is the same as U. The Greeks called it υ - upsilon.

Z-    This is the 26th most used letter in English alphabet. The seventh letter ז - zayin in the Hebrew speaking Semites alphabet and the seventeenth letter of the Arabic alphabet ظ – za were written like an arrow-like symbol. The Greeks borrowed it to make their sixth letter ζ - zeta and gave it the present capital form. The Romans used z only and moved it to the end of the alphabet. It became to be pronounced as zed in English and zee in American English.