alfabets

Alfabets are standardized sets of symbols used to write languages, typically representing the phonemes of speech. The term is often synonymous with alphabets, but alfabets may appear as a nonstandard spelling or in contexts where the word for alphabet is similar. An alphabet assigns a relatively small set of letters to the distinct sounds of a language, so that words and sentences can be recorded with sequences of symbols.

Most alphabetic systems trace their lineage to the Phoenician script, then through Greek to Latin and Cyrillic, which form the basis of many modern writing systems. The Greek alphabet introduced explicit vowel letters, an innovation that influenced later scripts. Latin spread with the Roman Empire and now underpins the alphabets of many languages worldwide, while Cyrillic was developed for Slavic languages in the first millennium CE. Other alphabets include Hebrew and Armenian; Arabic is often described as an abjad, recording consonants with optional diacritics for vowels.

Alphabetic families vary in how they treat vowels and diacritics. True alphabets generally provide separate letters for both vowels and consonants; abjads focus on consonants, with vowels indicated by diacritics or context; abugidas encode vowels as modifications of consonant symbols. Modern usage also involves numerous adaptations—diacritics, ligatures, and digraphs—to accommodate phonemic inventories and orthographic reforms.

In the digital era, alphabets are encoded in standards such as Unicode, enabling broad electronic communication and data processing. Alfabets are continually revised to accommodate new languages, loanwords, and technologies, while typography, input methods, and font design influence how they are taught and read.