The Semitic Alphabets

Isaac Taylor (1829-1901) is best known for his archaeological and philological works, especially his detailed study of the alphabets published in 1883. This book on the Semitic alphabets comprises the first volume of Taylor’s 1883 study. Taylor begins with a discussion on the invention of writing and the origin of the alphabet, then gives a discussion of three alphabetic families, what he calls the Phoenician alphabet, the Aramean alphabets (covering Palmyra, Hebrew, Syriac, Mongolian, and Arabic), and the south Semitic alphabets (covering Sabean and Ethiopic).