screenshot from X
I saw this X post that made me laugh so much but I was had to think about the history of words and alphabets. It seems obvious that languages are made up but if you don't consider it, you might think the English alphabets are logically arranged that way but it's not exactly so.
Have you ever thought about why the letter "A" is the first letter of the alphabet? Have you asked yourself who decided that? Why can't the letter"M" get a turn to be first? The most interesting thing about the order of the letters is that there is no scientific or logical reason for why it's in that order. It doesn't even have anything to do with how sounds are made. It doesn't have anything to do with the frequency of how frequently the letters are pronounced. There is no special linguistic formula that determines the order of the alphabet. It is simply a matter of tradition, an ancient tradition that has been passed down.
By ancient tradition, I don't mean your great grandparents' generation. By ancient tradition, I'm talking about ancient scribes writing alphabetic characters in clay, on clay tablets. Thousands of years ago when the first alphabets were created, people put the letters in a particular order based on their convenience. They basically put the letters in the same order every time they created an alphabet. It's more like how everyone has a particular way they organize their room, no matter how messed up it may be, they have what they start with. I personally start with talking out trash on the floor before laying the bed or sweeping. It's the other way round for some others.
The cool thing is this arbitrary system of letter organization is part of all our lives. Children learn the alphabet before they learn to tie their shoes. We the adults organize our files, contacts lists and books using this order without ever questioning it.
My best guess is that we learned the alphabets at a tender age where we didn't question anything, we just accepted what we were taught so looking for details about the origin of the alphabets wouldn't cross our minds that often.
We think of the letters in the order from "A" to "Z" as if it is part of some universal law, rather than just an old playlist made by people in the past.
And it's nice to know that there are still some traditions that make sense. Sometimes traditions survive just because people agree to continue with the tradition. Imagine all the traditions we have in life that may not actually have any logic behind them, we just never took the time to think about them.
