Evolution of the Alphabet chart

Adam Ladd
Adam Ladd Posts: 273
in Type Design Technique & Theory
Anyone else see this recently?

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/01/evolution-of-the-alphabet/

Just curious, as it is presented as a condensed overview of how Latin letters developed over centuries. I can't attest to how valid or invalid it may be, but thought it was interesting nonetheless and something others may have more insight on.

Comments

  • Andreas Stötzner
    Andreas Stötzner Posts: 810
    I’m not sure about the glyph for the Greek Digamma (F-row) shown. The omission of the Greek Sampi and the Omega seems a bit odd. Apart from that, it’s actually a rather nice work.
  • K Pease
    K Pease Posts: 182
    Yes, I've seen it passed around a couple times. Most glaringly, Ancient Greek and Ancient Latin are presented backwards. So most lay comments on this image are along the lines of "why did the Romans mirror the whole thing." The Greeks used boustrophedon writing, which is probably how the forms got turned around, but even then these were not considered the forward forms, and I don't think Latin was found this way at all.
  • Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian
    Hrant Հրանդ Փափազեան Papazian Posts: 2,044
    edited January 2019
    It's not perfect, but I still bought a four-pack of those posters (it makes a nice gift).

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