Evidence of oldest known alphabetic writing unearthed in ancient Syrian city

Re:Evidence of oldest known alphabetic writing unearthed in ... by alok-g on Saturday November 23, 2024 @08:15PM (#42225233)

Yes, however, I was still left wondering about the writing that existing from earlier; and was hoping the article would explain it.

I am still not fully clear actually -- Alphabet being a finite set of symbols, how did pre-alphabetic writing work?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Evidence of oldest known alphabetic writing unearthed in ... by Electricniko on Saturday November 23, 2024 @09:56PM (#42225616)

Alphabets have symbols that represent sounds which are strung together to make words. Other types of writing might include symbols that represent words or phrases, with an example being like Egyptian hieroglyphs or Chinese characters.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Evidence of oldest known alphabetic writing unearthed in ... by mmooss on Sunday November 24, 2024 @02:56AM (#42226608)

Also, in some, symbols represent syllables. It's significant because there are many more syllables than individual sounds.

[ Parent | on HN ]