68 
Che Source of the Modern English (Moma) 
Alphabet. 
By T. KNow.es, M.A., 
OF Sr. Jonn’s COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 
(Read before the Society, December 2nd, 1887.) 
as that used by the Romans; that is to say, the order 
of the letters is practically the same, and the powers 
® of the consonants are, with few exceptions, the same. 
The difference between the two lies chiefly in the pronunciation 
of the vowels, the symbols of which sounds are, however, only 
five or six in number, whilst the whole alphabet consists of twenty- 
six letters. Anyhow, it is a fact beyond any dispute that our 
modern English alphabet was forced upon, or adopted by us, 
consequent on the Norman invasion of this country. Now, the 
Roman alphabet is derived from the Greek alphabet, which it 
follows pretty closely. Therefore, my inquiry resolves itself into 
this, namely, What is the source of the Greek alphabet ? 
The answer to this question, as I shall endeavour to show, is, 
From the east, whence so much of European learning and science 
was originally derived. The truth is, we have borrowed or 
adopted our alphabet from a family of languages altogether alien 
to our own. This alphabet is the one thing which Aryan — 
languages seem to have taken from Semitic languages. So dis- 
similar and repugnant are the several characteristics of these two 
families of languages from one another that this adoption by the 
Aryans of one of the Semitic characteristics is most remarkable. 
Whatever we may think of the nomenclature, Aryan and Semitic, 
