Weird and Wonderful: The origin of Alphabets and their order

Ever found yourself humming the alphabet song? A,B,C,D,E,F,G… and along the way you stopped to wonder why alphabets were placed in this order? Who arranged them this way? And who decided that it will end with Z? Who’s to really say Z is the last alphabet? The history of alphabets speaks to the evolution of written language and how some languages don’t even have alphabets but rather use symbols. On today’s edition of Weird and Wonderful, we uncover the captivating history of the world’s alphabets and find out where this sequence came from. Joining me for this conversation is Dr. Jane Sancinito, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.