Why is the alphabet arranged the way it is?

Question

It could be
zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba
It's the same but backwards.

Answer 1

The English ABC's sung by school children today do not phonetically represent a progressive scale of the natural 26 letter sounds. There is no long e in the natural sound of the letters B, C, D, G, P, T, V, and Z. There is no short e in the natural sound of the letters F, L, M, N, S, and X. Furthermore, there is no "double" in the natural sound of W. All of these examples show editions to the sounds of the English alphabet. The Hebrew and Greek alphabets assign words [names] to the letters in their alphabets as well, but the reason why is still largely anybody's guess. To specify the particular order [alphabet] for sounds and symbols is to specify the recorded order for words. If you want to illustrate the historical relationships between words and catalog the findings within a single dictionary, you might first want to think long and hard before defining the alphabetical order for that dictionary. It was exactly this situation that I found myself in a number of years ago. I looked at the English alphabet and I asked myself the question "Why?" "Why is the English alphabet in the order that it is?" I looked at English, German, Latin, Greek, Akkadian, Sumerian, Hebrew, Egyptian, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Mandarin, Mayan, Aztec, Native American, Polynesian, Gaelic, Norse, African, and other languages. I asked myself, "Which is the proper authority on alphabets?" I looked at the English Bible, The Hebrew Torah, The Bhagavadgita, The I Ching, The Mayan Calendar, Tibetan Buddhism, World Mythologies and other related subjects to gain further insight into the meaning of sounds and symbols. Several years ago [1996-1997] I discovered the alphabetical order that I use today. Since that time, my personal dictionary has grown from two thousand to more than twelve thousand words. I continue to research sounds and symbols by remembering to ask myself the question why? "Why did a particular symbol, a particular word or a particular definition become popular?" Such questions have blazed a critical trail of etymology exploration. A trail that naturally led to a deeper study of the Bible and World History. The Bible, because for a number of years the Bible symbolized the most popular source for recorded world history. World history, because the Bible is not the only source for recorded world history. When contemplating factors that influence the definition of sounds and symbols throughout history, one of the greatest factors to consider is time. Relative to time, sounds and symbols generally change to reflect the conventions of world society. Sponsored by personal preference, personal education, and personal understanding time attempts to satisfy any number of cultural appetites; most notably peer pressure and popular opinion. The Hebrew and Greek alphabets record roughly two or three different letters for the basic sounds of H, A, T, K, and S? Is it any wonder then that modern linguistics study resembles a phonetic circus? The English alphabet in the form that we find it today is simply a product of society. It resembles the basic alphabetical recipe followed for a number of years. Mirror History dictionary gives the same basic ingredients found within the English alphabet, but it illustrates the recorded order for those ingredients differently. Such a phenomena is not unique within the evolution of language alphabets. English, Latin, Greek and Hebrew have all made changes to their alphabets over time. Taking advantage of Mirror History dictionary depends on the acquired habit of looking at letters in context to their basic sound components, and understanding those components as levels of vibration within a measured scale of high and low frequencies.

Answer 2

Erik is correct. I do not suppose there's a certain motive why it is ABCD and no longer BDCA. Maybe at the moment, the sounds a, b, c, d, e, f, and so on had been mainly utilized in spoken language, for this reason they're within the opening of the record. Some appears like z, w, v, had been not often produced. Maybe that is the motive.

Answer 3

Why is the sky blue? Really you could answer that one too...but why does it matter. It's just the way it was created hundreds of years ago, if not longer. A gradual process, like an evolution of words.

Answer 4

I think it has something to do with the greek alphabet it was stolen from.

Answer 5

Why do birds crap on clean cars? Why is the sun hot? Honestly why does it matter? Because it is what it is. Not trying to be mean. But for real though.

Answer 6

So we can sing the alphabet song!@

Answer 7

Fits best with the song!

Answer 8

so that it will be very easy to arrange.....alphabetically!

Answer 9

so that you can ask about it. It probably the way that they came up with the letters

Answer 10

you gotta set a system somewhere I guess...