Evolution of the English, French, German and Spanish Alphabet

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Reading 101

The writing systems used for French, English, German, and Spanish all originate from the Latin alphabet, which was developed from the Etruscan alphabet, itself derived from the Greek alphabet, which ultimately traces back to the Phoenician script. Here’s a brief origin of each language’s writing system:

1. English

1. The Old English alphabet was adapted from the Latin script brought by Christian missionaries in the 7th century CE.
2. Before that, the Anglo-Saxons used Runes (the Futhorc script).
3. Over time, the English alphabet evolved, influenced by Norman French after 1066.
4. Modern English uses 26 letters with no diacritics (except in loanwords).

2. French

1. French developed from Vulgar Latin, brought to Gaul by the Romans.
2. The Latin alphabet was used from the Roman period onward.
3. The French writing system introduced diacritics (é, è, ê, etc.) to indicate pronunciation and grammatical distinctions.
4. French spelling was standardized in the 17th century, influenced by the Académie Française.

3. German

1. Like English, Old High German was initially written in Runes before adopting the Latin script (8th century CE).
2. The German alphabet includes additional letters: ä, ö, ü (umlauts) and ß (Eszett).
3. Spelling reforms in the 20th and 21st centuries simplified German orthography.

4. Spanish

1. Spanish evolved from Vulgar Latin, brought by the Romans to the Iberian Peninsula.
2. The Latin script was used throughout its history.
3. The Ñ (ñ) was a Spanish innovation, derived from the abbreviation of "nn" in medieval manuscripts.
4. The Real Academia Española (RAE) regulates Spanish spelling and writing.

Common Origin

All four languages share the Latin alphabet but adapted it with unique features like diacritics (French, Spanish, German) or new letters (Spanish ñ, German ß). This alphabet spread across Europe due to the Roman Empire and later evolved through monastic scribes, printing, and language academies.

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