Comment by DiogenesKynikos
1 day ago
By that standard, many alphabets, including the Phoenician and Arabic alphabets, aren't "real" alphabets.
1 day ago
By that standard, many alphabets, including the Phoenician and Arabic alphabets, aren't "real" alphabets.
Indeed, Arabic is an abjad.
shouldn't it be called a bjd?
I know you’re joking, but Arabic doesn’t write short vowels only. A as in “ah” is still written, so it would be “Abjd”
1 reply →
Yes, exactly. Linear A was the first alphabet, and greek gave "alphabet" its name.
I almost get the sense that people are interpreting abjad as "lesser-than" an alphabet. It's just a distinction, it's not a value judgement.