Latin alphabet, the most widely used alphabeticwriting system in the world, the standard script of theEnglish language and the languages of most ofEurope and those areas settled by Europeans. Developed from theEtruscan alphabet at some time before 600bce, it can be traced through Etruscan,Greek, andPhoenician scripts to theNorth Semitic alphabet used inSyria andPalestine about 1100bce. The earliest inscription in the Latin alphabet appears on thePraeneste Fibula, a cloak pin dating from about the 7th centurybce, which reads, “MANIOS MED FHEFHAKED NUMASIOI” (in Classical Latin: “Manius me fecit Numerio,” meaning “Manius made me for Numerius”). Dated not much later than this is a vertical inscription on a small pillar in theRoman Forum, and theDuenos inscription on a vase found near the Quirinal (a hill inRome) probably dates to the 6th centurybce. Although experts disagree on the dating of these objects, the inscriptions are generally considered to be the oldestextant examples of the Latin alphabet.

The Classical Latin alphabet consisted of 23 letters, 21 of which were derived from the Etruscan alphabet. Inmedieval times the letterI wasdifferentiated intoI andJ andV intoU,V, andW, producing analphabet equivalent to that of modern English with 26 letters. Some European languages currently using the Latin alphabet do not use the lettersK andW, and some add extra letters (usually standard Latin letters withdiacritical marks added or sometimes pairs of letters read as one sound).

In ancient Roman times there were two main types of Latin script,capital letters and cursive. There were also varieties of writing that mixed capitals and cursive or semicursive letters; Latinuncial script developed from such a mixed form in the 3rd centuryce. In theMiddle Ages many different Latin scripts developed from capital, cursive, and uncial forms. The round “humanistic” handwriting, used for copying books, and a more angular cursive script, used for legal and commercial purposes in 15th-century Italy, gave rise, respectively, to theroman anditalic typefaces currently used in printing.

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The table shows the Latin alphabet.