Misc
From Greek to Latin: Visualizing the Evolution of the Alphabet
From Greek to Latin: Visualizing the Evolution of the Alphabet
Over the course of 2021, the Greek alphabet was a major part of the news cycle.
COVID-19 variants, which are labeled with Greek letters when becoming a variant of concern, normalized their usage. From the Alpha variant in the UK, to the Delta variant that spread from India to become the dominant global strain, the Greek alphabet was everywhere. Seemingly overnight, the Omicron variant discovered in South Africa has now taken the mantle as the most discussed variant.
But the Greek alphabet is used in other parts of our lives as well. For example, Greek letters are commonly used in mathematics and science, like Sigma (Σ) denoting a sum or Lambda (λ) used to represent the half-life of radioactive material.
And the study of linguistics shows us why using Greek letters in English isn’t completely farfetched. This visualization from Matt Baker at UsefulCharts.com demonstrates how the modern Latin script used in English evolved from Greek, and other, alphabets.
It’s All Proto-Sinaitic to Me
Before there was English, or Latin, or even Greek, there was Proto-Sinaitic.
Considered the first alphabet ever used, the Proto-Sinaitic script was derived in Canaan, around the biblical Land of Israel. It was repurposed from Egyptian hieroglyphs that were commonly seen in the area (its name comes from Mount Sinai), and used to describe sounds instead of meanings.
Proto-Sinaitic Letter (Reconstructed Name) | Original Meaning |
---|---|
ʾalp | ox |
bayt | house |
gaml | throwstick |
dag | fish |
haw/hillul | praise |
waw/uph | fowl |
zayn/zayt | oxhide ingot/sword |
ḏiqq | manacle |
ḥaṣr | courtyard |
ḫayt | thread |
ṭab | good |
yad | hand |
kap | palm |
lamd | goad |
maym | water |
naḥaš | snake |
ṡamk | peg |
ʿayn | eye |
ġabi | calyx |
pʿit | corner |
ṣaday | plant |
qoba | needle/nape/monkey |
raʾš | head |
šimš | sun |
śadeh | field |
ṯann | bow |
tāw | mark |
As the first Semitic script, Proto-Sinaitic soon influenced other Semitic languages. It was the precursor to the Phoenician alphabet, which was used in the area of modern-day Lebanon and spread across the Mediterranean and became the basis for Arabic, Cyrillic, Hebrew, and of course, Greek.
Evolving into the Greek, Roman, and Latin Alphabets
Over time, the alphabet continued to become adopted and evolve across different languages.
The first forms of the Archaic Greek script are dated circa 750 BCE. Many of the letters remained in Modern Greek, including Alpha, Beta, Delta, and even Omicron, despite first appearing more than 2,500 years ago.
Soon the Greek alphabet (and much of its culture) was borrowed into Latin, with Archaic Latin script appearing circa 500 BCE. The evolution into Roman script, with the same recognizable letters used in modern English, occurred 500 years later in 1 CE.
Alphabet | Usage (Year) |
---|---|
Proto-Sinaitic | ~ 1,750 BCE |
Phoenician | ~ 1,000 BCE |
Archaic Greek | ~ 750 BCE |
Archaic Latin | ~ 500 BCE |
Roman | ~ 1 CE |
Modern Latin | Today |
Many of the letters which first came from Egyptian hieroglyphs made their way into modern English, but they took a long and convoluted journey. As the graphic above highlights, some letters evolved into multiple forms, while others fell out of use entirely.
And this is just a snapshot of the many scripts and languages that the modern English alphabet evolved from. Lowercase letters came from Roman cursive, which evolved into the Insular and Carolingian scripts before becoming modern lowercase English.
Like many things in the long arc of human culture, alphabets are not as far removed from each other as you might think.
Misc
How Hard Is It to Get Into an Ivy League School?
We detail the admission rates and average annual cost for Ivy League schools, as well as the median SAT scores required to be accepted.
How Hard Is It to Get Into an Ivy League School?
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Ivy League institutions are renowned worldwide for their academic excellence and long-standing traditions. But how hard is it to get into one of the top universities in the U.S.?
In this graphic, we detail the admission rates and average annual cost for Ivy League schools, as well as the median SAT scores required to be accepted. The data comes from the National Center for Education Statistics and was compiled by 24/7 Wall St.
Note that “average annual cost” represents the net price a student pays after subtracting the average value of grants and/or scholarships received.
Harvard is the Most Selective
The SAT is a standardized test commonly used for college admissions in the United States. It’s taken by high school juniors and seniors to assess their readiness for college-level academic work.
When comparing SAT scores, Harvard and Dartmouth are among the most challenging universities to gain admission to. The median SAT scores for their students are 760 for reading and writing and 790 for math. Still, Harvard has half the admission rate (3.2%) compared to Dartmouth (6.4%).
School | Admission rate (%) | SAT Score: Reading & Writing | SAT Score: Math | Avg Annual Cost* |
---|---|---|---|---|
Harvard University | 3.2 | 760 | 790 | $13,259 |
Columbia University | 3.9 | 750 | 780 | $12,836 |
Yale University | 4.6 | 760 | 780 | $16,341 |
Brown University | 5.1 | 760 | 780 | $26,308 |
Princeton University | 5.7 | 760 | 780 | $11,080 |
Dartmouth College | 6.4 | 760 | 790 | $33,023 |
University of Pennsylvania | 6.5 | 750 | 790 | $14,851 |
Cornell University | 7.5 | 750 | 780 | $29,011 |
*Costs after receiving federal financial aid.
Additionally, Dartmouth has the highest average annual cost at $33,000. Princeton has the lowest at $11,100.
While student debt has surged in the United States in recent years, hitting $1.73 trillion in 2023, the worth of obtaining a degree from any of the schools listed surpasses mere academics. This is evidenced by the substantial incomes earned by former students.
Harvard grads, for example, have the highest average starting salary in the country, at $91,700.
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