Latin script

Latin alphabet world distribution

Small a with acute

Latin script, also known as Roman script, is a writing system used by many languages around the world. It is the most widely adopted writing system in the world, used by approximately 70% of the global population. The script is derived from the alphabets of ancient Italy, particularly the Etruscan alphabet and the Cumae alphabet, a variant of the Greek alphabet that was adopted by the Etruscans. The Latin script was further developed by the Roman Empire to write the Latin language.

History

The origins of the Latin script can be traced back to the 7th century BC, with the earliest known inscriptions dating from this period. The script underwent significant evolution over the centuries, with the classical Latin alphabet consisting of 23 letters. The letters Y and Z were later added from the Greek alphabet to write words of Greek origin.

During the Middle Ages, the Latin script was adapted to write many different languages, leading to the development of various regional scripts, such as Carolingian minuscule, which later evolved into the modern scripts used in Western Europe. The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century standardized the script, making it more uniform across different regions.

Characteristics

The Latin script is an alphabetic writing system, consisting of letters that represent individual sounds. The modern Latin alphabet has 26 letters, but the number of letters can vary in different languages due to the addition of language-specific characters or diacritics.

Letters

The basic letters of the Latin alphabet are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. Each letter can exist in two cases: uppercase and lowercase. The letters have different forms when written as capitals or as small letters.

Diacritics

Many languages use diacritics to modify the sound values of certain letters. Common diacritics in the Latin script include the acute (´), grave (`), circumflex (^), tilde (~), and umlaut (¨). These marks can indicate stress, vowel quality changes, or nasalization.

Usage

The Latin script is used as the official or co-official script of most countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. It is also widely used as a second script in countries with other primary scripts, such as in many African countries where it serves to write indigenous languages, often alongside former colonial languages.

Variants

Over time, the Latin script has diversified into numerous variants, each adapted to local languages. These include: - The English alphabet, which is essentially the basic Latin alphabet. - The Spanish alphabet, which includes the letter Ñ. - The German alphabet, which includes letters with umlauts, as well as the Eszett (ß). - The Turkish alphabet, which includes several letters with diacritics and unique characters like the dotless I (ı).

Modern Developments

In the digital age, the Latin script has been adapted to various technologies, including computers and smartphones. Unicode, a computing industry standard for consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text, supports the full range of characters and diacritics used in modern Latin script-based languages.

See Also

• Alphabet
• Writing system
• Etruscan alphabet
• Greek alphabet
• Roman Empire