How did the Pheonician alphabet differ from earlier from of writing?
The Phoenician script was a change from previous writing systems in that it had a different letter for every consonantal sound (but not for vowels) – an “alphabet”. If the Proto-Canaanite script is counted as an early form of Phoenician, it is the first widespread example of such as system. Prior to that, languages were represented by symbols that represented words and syllables (a “logographic script”). The most famous examples included Cuneiform (the script of the Fertile Crescent) and Egyptian Hieroglyphics. Moreover, while earlier European/North African scripts such as Cuneiform, Hieroglyphics and Linear A died out, the Phoenician alphabet remains the basis for the modern Roman alphabet. It is thus the oldest alphabet with a modern recognizable descendant.
