The alphabet is a Greek invention — the Greeks added vowels to the Phoenician consonant alphabet around 800 BC.
Fact #5640
👍 0 · 👎 0
More Language Facts
The Pirahã language of the Amazon has no words for numbers beyond 'one,' 'two,' and 'many.'
Fact #6194 · Language
Languages evolve continuously — Shakespeare's English is dramatically different from today's just 400 years later.
Fact #6018 · Language
There are no true synonyms — words with similar meanings always differ in connotation, register, or use.
Fact #5631 · Language
Parrots can learn hundreds of words and use them in context.
Fact #2532 · Language
The most translated book in history is the Bible — available in over 700 languages.
Fact #8326 · Language
Urdu and Hindi are mutually intelligible in speech but written in completely different scripts.
Fact #6047 · Language
The Spanish-American War took place in 1898.
Fact #1109 · Language
The world's shortest alphabet, Rotokas of Papua New Guinea, has only 12 letters.
Fact #5635 · Language
Want more facts?
We have over 11,441 facts across 15 categories.