/ / What is the main drawback of the Phoenician letter? Absence of vowels

What is the main shortcoming of the Phoenician letter? Absence of vowels

All modern alphabets have descended from the ancients,which were created several thousand years ago. Years passed, gradually the writing was modified and perfected. But what was in the sources? In this article we will talk about one of the progenitors of modern alphabets - Phoenician.

The Phoenician letter is an alphabetic script,which originated in ancient times. It appeared in the 15th century BC. In addition to some exceptions, this writing became the progenitor of all the alphabets in the world.

What pushed the Phoenicians to create their own writing

Phenicia was located at that time in the territorywhich is now occupied by Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The alphabet began to improve, as it required more simple and accessible written communication. At that time, the development of trade relations and navigation. But as a result of the improvement of the alphabet, some difficulties appeared. What is the main disadvantage of Phoenician writing? This is undoubtedly the absence of vowels in it.

what is the main disadvantage of phoenician writing

History of the Phoenician Alphabet

Originally existed Egyptian hieroglyphics.But since it was rather complicated, the Hyksos-conquerors simplified it somewhat. The result is 26 characters. But the Hyksos did not have time to develop their writing.

Then continued to improve the alphabetPhoenicians. The basis they took the simplified Egyptian writing, which was created by the Hyksos. But as a result, there were some difficulties. To the question of what is the main disadvantage of the Phoenician letter, it is safe to say that this is a lack of vowels. It made it difficult to make writing perfect.

Phoenician letter

Disadvantages of phoenician writing

In any writing, in addition to virtues, there aresome errors. So what is the main disadvantage of Phoenician writing? This is consonance. In other words - the absence of vowels. Because of this feature, reading was difficult. For a normal understanding required excellent knowledge of the Phoenician script. In some sections of the text had to apply their ingenuity.

What is the main disadvantage of Phoenician writing?You can answer in more detail. All letters of the alphabet (and the roots of words) consisted only of consonants. But the vowels nevertheless were, only they were used in syllables and served to link between words. Therefore, reading was quite inconvenient and difficult.