英语字母发展史

The modernized sector comprises of 26 letters, which started at 16th century. The development had influences from Greek, Roman, Semitic and Phoenician scripts. It is really a surprising addition to it.

了解语言，我们从了解其历史开始。

我们都知道英文有26个字母，起源于16世纪。其实，英语的26个字母确实来自于象形文字。这26个字母最初起源于埃及象形文字，后由腓尼基人改进发明了腓尼基字母，希腊人对腓尼基字母加以改革后创造了希腊字母，古罗马人对希腊字母加以改革进而发明了拉丁字母，英文字母就属于拉丁字母。几千年的变迁，古代字母和现代字母的发音已经有很大的区别，但其基本的象形含义仍或多或少地保存下来。了解26个英文字母的来源，对我们记单词是大有帮助的，今天我们就从英语的基础，26个字母的来源开始吧，让我们更加深入的了解我们所学的语言：

A) The original shape of this latter was upside down and it was introduced in 1800s. Being inverted, it looks like animal’s head with antlers or horns. It was fitting as in Semitic A means ox.

最初，字母A与现在上下颠倒，写起来类似字母V中间加一横，像某种动物的角，在闪米特语中A是“牛”的意思。直到19世纪，人们才将它倒过来写，成了现在的模样。

B) B was primarily borrowed from Egyptian hieroglyphics with it resting on its belly. The original shaped look like house with door, roof and room. It represents shelter about 4K years ago.

字母B由古埃及象形文字演变而来，最初是呈仰卧状，外形类似有门、屋顶和房间的屋子。4000年前，代表房屋之意。

C) It came from Phoenicians and it was shaped like hunter’s stick or the boomerang. Greeks called it gamma from facing other direction and it was flipped to direction written today with Italians giving that crescent shape.

C来自于古代腓尼基人，形状像猎人的手杖或回旋镖。而希腊人将它反向书写并作为第3个字母，命名“伽玛”（gamma），而后澳大利亚人将它书写成了现在的方向。

D) Dalet was what the letter D was called in 800 BC by Phoenicians. It previously looked like rough triangle faced left. The original meaning is door. When Greeks adopted alphabet, they have it name Delta. Later, it was flipped and Romans gave the right side that semicircle shape.

Dalet是腓尼基人在公元前800年对字母D的称呼。它以前看起来像面向左边的不规则三角形，是门的意思。当希腊人创造字母表时，他们把它命名为德尔塔Δ（delta）。后来，罗马人将原来的形状翻转过来，并把右边变成了半圆形。

E) Around 3800 years ago, E was pronounced as H in Semitic language and it looked like stick figure of human with two arms and a leg. The Greeks flipped it in 700BC and changed pronunciation into “ee” sound.

约3800年前，E在闪米特语中读现今H的音，它看起来像一个有两条胳膊和一条腿的人形简笔画。公元前700年，希腊人将原有形状翻转并把发音变成了ee音。E是英语里用得最多的字母。在腓尼基语和希伯来语中E是代表窗的象形符号，叫做he，相当于希腊字母E（epsilon）。

F) F was from Phoenicians and looked more like Y. It was pronounced at that time and sound made close to “waw.” Ancient Greeks renamed it to Digamma and tipped to resemble present day F. The Romans made it looked better with geometrical shape and sound to “fff.”

F（英语字母表中的第六个字母）源自腓尼基语的第六个象形字母，该字母形似今日之英语字母Y,代表木栓或木钉（peg），在腓尼基语和希伯来语的名称为waw。古希腊人将它重新命名为Digamma，与现在的f相似。后罗马人将其几何形状和声音变的更像现在的f。

G) G came from Zeta in Greeks. It looked like I previously made “zzz” sound. It was changed in 250 BC by Romans and sounding like “g” sound.

G源于希腊语Zeta，发zzz的音。在古代腓尼基语及希伯来语的字母表里，G是描摹骆驼的头和颈之轮廓的象形字母，其名称为gimel。公元前250年，罗马人将其变为g音。

H) H came from Egyptians and used as fence symbol. It made breathy sound when pronounced. So, academicians of those times thought it to be not necessary. Later, Latin and British scholars dropped it around 500AD.

H源自埃及，像其它字母一样，H也可通过拉丁语和希腊语的字母表，一直追溯到腓尼基语字母表。在腓尼基语中和H相应的字母有两条横杠，它代表篱笆或栅栏，字母名称叫heth或cheth。但约公元500年左右，拉丁语和英国学者曾将该字母放弃。

I) I was called Yod in 1000 BC. It meant arm and hand. The Greeks used to call is “iota” and made it then vertical. It turned into straight line in 700 BC.

公元前1世纪，I发音为yod，表该字母被认为代表人的手指。最初小写字母I并不带点，希腊人曾经称它为iota，并使它垂直。公元前700年，I变成了一条直线。

J) Previously, I used to stand for J sound. It got shaped in 15th century as contribution to Spanish language. It was in 1640 that the letter regulated in print.

字母J是在15世纪西班牙语中正式形成的，并在1640年代开始出现印刷体，是和V并称英语字母表中两个最年轻的字母。J是由I衍生而来，即在I上加一尾巴构成。然而，直至19世纪I，J的书写形式或印刷形式一直可以互换，并未完全分家。

K) K is the old letter and came from Egyptian hieroglyphics. Right in Semitic language, it was called kaph translating into palm of hand. At that time, letter faced other way. When Greeks got it in 800 BC, K became Kappa and flipped to right.

K是源自埃及象形文字。在闪米特语中，它被称为kaph，意为手掌。当时，K面朝另一个方向。公元前800年，希腊人将K向右变成了Kappa。

L) In Semitic, L was upside down. It looked like hooked letter and called EI, meaning God. The Phoenicians gave it that reversed look with hook facing left. The hook was straightened and changed the name to Lamed. Greeks called in lambda and turned it around for facing right. The final look came with straight foot at right angle by Romans.

在腓尼基语中，L是上下颠倒的,它看起来像一个钩状的字母，叫做EI，意为上帝。腓尼基人将它钩朝左，挂钩变直，读作lamed，是表示刺棒（oxgoad）或鞭子的象形符号。希腊人把它转过朝向右，叫作lambda。后罗马人以直角完成了最后的造型。

M) The origin of this letter was wavy vertical lines with 5 peaks for symbolizing water as per Egyptian. In 1800 BC, Semites reduced lines to 3 waves and Phoenicians later removed another wave from it. Later, the peaks were made in zigzag in 800 BC and flipped horizontally.

最初，M是波浪状的竖线，上面有5个山峰，象征着水。公元前1800年，腓尼基人将线条简化为3个波浪，腓尼基人后来又从中移除了另一个波浪。后来，这些山峰在公元前800年成形，并水平翻转。

N) N looked like small ripple over large one. It symbolizes fish and one ripple appeared in 1000 BC.

N看起来像一个小的涟漪接着大的。公元前1000年，象征鱼。

O) It came from Egyptians and called eye in that. Later, it reduced hieroglyphics with only the outline of pupil.

O源自埃及，最初O字母里面还有眼睛形状，后来简化为只有瞳孔轮廓的象形文字。

P) P used to look like V. It meant mouth. Then it turned into diagonal hook shape later and Romans then flipped it to right with closed loop.

P过去看起来像V，它的意思是嘴。后来它变成了对角的钩形，罗马人把它翻转到右边并将勾闭合。

Q) The original sound was Qoph translated into monkey or wool. In roman inscription in 520 BC, the letter appeared modern.

Q最初读音是Qoph，Q的形状有点像垂着尾巴的猴子，意为猴子或羊毛。在公元前520年的罗马碑文中，Q已经显现出现代模样。

R) R was written by the Semites and was pronounced resh, meaning head. Later, Romans changed it.

R是由腓尼基人写的，发音为resh，意思是头。从古罗马时代起，R一直被称作dog’s letter或snarling letter,因为R的发意颇似狗的嗥叫声。

S) It used to appear as horizontal wave like W and represents bow. It was Romans who flipped it to vertical position and named it sigma.

在腓尼基语和希伯来语中，S叫shin / sin,意为”牙齿”,字母形状颇像今天的W。罗马人把它翻转到垂直位置，并命名为Σ（sigma）西格玛。

T) Previously, the lower case of this letter was used and was called taw. It was called Tau by Greeks.

字母T系由腓尼基语的象形字母变化而来。早先的字形恰似如今的字母X,叫做taw，意为”记号”（mark）。基于此符号形成的希腊语相应字母为T（tau）。

U) This letter looked like Y in 1000 BC. It meant peg and later, Greeks called it upsilon.

这个字母看起来像公元前1000年的Y，意为“钉住”，后来希腊人称之为“upsilon”。

V) Romans used U and V interchangeably. The distinction appeared around 1400.

V源于约公元前1000年腓尼基字母表中的第6个象形字母，该字母酷似今日之英语字母Y，叫做waw,意为”木栓”或”木钉”.公元前900年以后，希腊人借用了该字母，并由此衍生出两个字母，一个后来演变为英语字母F,另一个则演变为V和Y.在19世纪以前V和U这两个字母原来是不分的，可以互换的。V在罗马数字里表示5.公元1400年左右，罗马人开始把U和V互换使用。

W) It started in Middle ages two “u” were written side by side. It sounded like V and then it appeared in print in 1700.

W始于中世纪，两个U被并排写在一起，其实W系双V连写而成，本应读作double（双）V。W之所以读作double U是因为在19世纪以前的几个世纪U和V一直不分，可以互换。而W第一次印刷是出现在1700年。

X) It sounded like ksi in Greeks and used in its lowercase form. Later, in 15th century, the Italian printers used lower case X.

希腊语中X，音为ksi，并以小写形式使用。15世纪后，意大利打印机使用小写X。

X在罗马数字中代表10,在代数学和数学中X通常被用以表示未知数。当代数学从阿拉伯传入欧洲时，阿拉伯语中表示”未知数”的shei一词被译为xei,于是首字母X就成了未知数的常用代号。

Y) Roman added Y in 100AD.

Y字母由Y可以说是从V派生而来，罗马人于公元100年将其加入字母表。

Z) Z was called zayin, which meant ax. It looked like I previously and then later changed by Greeks once they adopted it in 800BC.

Z读如zayin，意思是斧头，最初形似字母I，公元前800年，希腊人采用了现在的形状。

原文摘自https://www.tridindia.com/，图片源于网络，译文由胖哒所有。

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