Brief History of
Alphabet/Letters
What is an alphabet?
Theletters used by a language are collectively called
an alphabet. It has a fixed order based on the custom
of the users. The alphabet is used for writing and the
symbols used for writing are called letters.
The term 'alphabet' came from the first two letters of
the Phoenician alphabet – 'Aleph' and 'Beth.' While
some languages have their own set of alphabets, the
most commonly used is the Latin alphabet, which is
also shared by several languages aside from English.
The early alphabetic
writing started about four
thousand years ago.
According to many
scholars, it was in Egypt
that alphabetic writing
developed between 1800
and 1900 BC.
HEIROGLYPHIC
Is a picture writing which is also
called logographic
Proto-Sinaitic
(also referred to as Proto-
Canaanite when found
in Canaan,[2] or Early Alphabetic) 19th–
15th century BC
Phoenicians Alphabet / Abjad
About 700 years after, the Phoenicians
developed an alphabet based on the earlier
foundations. It was widely used in the
Mediterranean, including southern Europe,
North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and the
Levant. The alphabet was made up of 22
letters, all of the consonants.
In 750 BC, the Greeks added
vowels to the Phoenician
alphabet and the
combination was regarded
as the initial true alphabet.
GREEKS ENTUSCANS ROMANS
Evolution of the English alphabet
When the Roman Empire reached Britain, they brought with them the
Latin language. Britain at that time was under the control of the Anglo-
Saxons, a Germanic tribe that used Old English as their language. At that
time Old English was using Futhorc, an older alphabet. It was also called
a runic alphabet.
The modern alphabet with 26 letters started in the 16th century. The
development of the English alphabet had influences from the Semitic,
Phoenician, Greek and Roman scripts. It's quite interesting to learn how
each letter was formed.
Technique of Lettering
Any person can learn to letter if a persistent and intelligent effort in
made. While it is true that “practice makes perfect”, it must be
understood that practice alone is not enough; it must be
accompanied by a continuous effort to improve.
Lettering is freehand drawing and not writing. Therefore, the basic
fundamental strokes and direction for freehand drawing are basic to
lettering. The horizontal strokes are drawn to the right, and all vertical,
inclined, and curved strokes are drawn downward.
Three necessary steps in learning to
letter:
Knowledge of the proportions and forms of the letters and
other strokes. No one can make good letters who does not
have a clear mental image of the correct form of the
letters.
Knowledge of composition – the spacing of the letters and
words.
Persistent practice with continuous effort to improve.
Classification of Letter Styles
1. Gothic Letters. They are the most simple and readable among the four groups of
letters. It has a uniform stem. It should be applied only for poster and advertisement
purposes.
Two forms of gothic letters:
A. Commercial Gothic. It is printed with B. Single Stroke Gothic. It is printed with
heavy stem. It is used for thin stem. It is used for engineering
advertisement purposes only. drawing
2. Roman Letters - The thickness of these letters is not uniform. they have pointed stem
which is called “serif”. They must be used for books, magazine, newspapers, and text
matters
3. Spanish Script. It is considered as artistic letters. It is purposely used for certificates,
diplomas, citations, greetings and invitation cards.
4. Text or Old English. This style is the most artistic among the four groups of letters. Similar to
Spanish script, it is also used for certificates, diplomas, citations, greetings and invitation
cards.
Stability
Letters should be made steady, firm in characters, fixed. The upper
portion of certain letters and numerals are equal in width to the lower
portion.
The Rule of Stability of letters
This refers to the standard rules to be considered in printing the letters
particularly on the following:
1. Upper Case letters. They are letters which are
printed in capital form. Three guidelines are cap
line, waist line, and base line.
2. Lower Case Letters. These are the letters which are printed in small letters printed
with the use of four guidelines such as cap line, waist line, base line, and dropped
line.
Example:
The General Proportion of Letters
Compressed or Condensed. This particular proportion should be applied only when
the space is limited. The letters are printed with closer distance and its width is
narrower than the normal size.
Extended. This proportion is applied when there is a more space. The width of the
letter is wider than the height.
Normal. This proportion is applied when there is normal space. The letter is printed in
the normal size.
