Alphabetize any List!

Proto-Sinaitic script, also known as Proto-Canaanite script, is a pre-cuneiform alphabet that originated in the Sinai Peninsula in the late 19th century BCE. It is believed to be the oldest known alphabet in the world, and is thought to have been developed by the ancient Semitic-speaking people of the region.

The origins of Proto-Sinaitic script are still largely unknown, and there is much debate among scholars as to how it came into existence. The debate over the origins of the Proto-Sinaitic script, centers around the question of whether the script was developed independently by the ancient Semitic-speaking inhabitants of the Sinai Peninsula, or whether it was derived from an earlier, non-Semitic script. Some scholars argue that the script is a local invention, developed by the Semitic-speaking people of the region as a way to record their own language. Others believe that the script was derived from an earlier, non-Semitic script, such as the Egyptian hieroglyphs or the Proto-Canaanite script.

One of the key pieces of evidence that has been used to support the idea that the Proto-Sinaitic script was derived from an earlier script is the similarity between some of the characters in the Proto-Sinaitic script and those in the other scripts. For example, the Proto-Sinaitic character that represents the letter “aleph” (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) is similar to the hieroglyphic symbol for an ox head, which was used to represent the sound “aleph” in the Egyptian language. This similarity has led some scholars to suggest that the Proto-Sinaitic script may have been derived from the hieroglyphic script, possibly through contact between the ancient Semitic-speaking people of the Sinai Peninsula and the Egyptians.

However, other scholars have pointed out that the Proto-Sinaitic script also contains many unique features that are not found in other scripts, such as the use of diagonal lines to represent certain sounds, and the use of dots to distinguish between different consonants. These features suggest that the Proto-Sinaitic script was developed independently, rather than being derived from an earlier script.

Regardless, what is known is that it was a major step forward in the development of written language, as it was the first known script to represent the sounds of a language rather than just its ideas or concepts.

Proto-Sinaitic script was used primarily for religious and ceremonial purposes, and was inscribed on various objects such as pottery, stone, and metal. It is thought that it was used by the Semitic-speaking people of the region, including the ancient Hebrews, to record their religious texts and rituals. Some scholars have even suggested that it may have been used to write the earliest versions of the Bible.

The sound of Proto-Sinaitic script is largely unknown, as there are no recordings or written records of how it was pronounced. However, it is believed that it would have sounded similar to other Semitic languages of the time, such as Hebrew or Aramaic. Some scholars have even attempted to reconstruct the sounds of the script based on its known phonetic values, but these are only theories and are not widely accepted.

The cultural importance of Proto-Sinaitic script cannot be understated. It was a major breakthrough in the development of written language, and paved the way for the creation of other alphabets and writing systems. It is thought to have influenced the development of the Phoenician alphabet, which in turn influenced the Greek, Latin, and Cyrillic alphabets. In this way, Proto-Sinaitic script has played a major role in the development of written language and communication throughout the world.

Found this amazing chart on the history of the English (or Latin) alphabet, made by Matt Baker. You can download the hi-res color version here.

A few interesting tidbits I’ve recently learned about our alphabet, from the smart people on Reddit:

• The ampersand (&) used to be part of the alphabet, right at the end. It was pronounced like ‘x, y, z and per se and’ so is where we get ampersand from.
• Thorn (þ) isn’t on the chart anywhere either. It was part of the Old English alphabet and was pronounced like ‘th’, but because it looks like ‘y’, when the printing presses arrived in England from Europe, they didn’t have the þ symbol, so they used Y instead as it was close enough. When you see spellings like ‘Ye old Fish and Chip Shop’ in England, the ‘Ye’ is meant to be pronounced like ‘The‘.
• Aside from thorn, there were five other letters that have been dropped from the English alphabet: eth (ð), wynn (ƿ), yogh (ȝ), ash (æ) and ethel (œ)
• Pause – comes from παύω meaning ‘I stop’ or ‘I cease’
• Skeptic – stems from σκοπεω meaning ‘I examine’
• Psyche – ψυχή, means ‘soul’ – not ‘mind’ as we may assume!
• Angel – comes from αγγελος simply meaning ‘messenger’
• The letter “Z” was re-introduced into the Latin alphabet c. 1st century B.C. by the Romans in order to capture the Greek letter zeta. They did tack it back onto the end, which explain Z’s current position. This predates both the modern printing press and even the invention of moveable type by several centuries.
• The letter that looks like a Z in the Archaic Greek alphabet is the letter yod, which used to have a “y” sound but gradually morphed into an “i” sound (pronounced “ee”) and became the Latin I.
• Before the Romans it was not uncommon for writing to be done in “Boustrophedon” or “ox-turning” style, ie the first line went left-right, the second line right-left etc (like the path of an ox ploughing a field). Not only was the direction of the words reversed, but the letters were also flipped. It wasn’t so much that the Romans flipped them, they just settled on one of the two versions of each letter that were available.
• After Greeks adopted the phoenician letters they flipped them perhaps because phoenicians wrote from right to left and Greeks wrote from left to right. Of course there is also the weird “Boustrophedon” way that was only used for a few hundred years. The letters used in Classical Greece is shown here. As you see in this, it shows the letters in their new “correct” orientation that was used later on.
• “W” literally meant “double U”, or rather “double V” since at one time V and U were the same letter that diverged as pronunciations changed.

Disclaimer: Before you start following these rules in the office, it’s a good idea to double-check with your employer about the alphabetizing rules followed in your company. There are different versions of filing rules so filing practices differ from company to company.

It’s important for every business to have their employee information, company records, and other important data maintained in a proper and systematic manner. The  way most companies do this is by alphabetization. The process has quite a few benefits as well. For instance, having a standardized filing practice means documents will be easier to find, you can add or remove new entries without disturbing other entries, and alphabetization is an intuitive process so people other than employees can understand it as well.

There are three versions of alphabetical filing rules:

1. Letter by letter: In this version, spaces between the words are disregarded.
2. Word by word: Here, each word is filed on the basis of the first letter.
3. Unit by unit: Here, each word, abbreviation, and initial is considered as a separate unit.

For this article, we’ll be focusing on the unit by unit version simply because it covers pretty much all the rules. Here we go:

Rule #1: File numbers first

Numbers go first. Arabic numbers (0-9) are indexed numerically before alphabetic characters. However, keep in mind that they are NOT spelled out. For instance, 21 Horses Inc. will come before 4 Horsemen Pvt Ltd. because we disregard the t and f in twenty and four respectively.

You’ll file numbers in the same way you would file alphabets – in ascending order – that is, smallest to largest.

If the numbers are spelled out, they’ll be treated as normal words and filed alphabetically.

Rule #2: Initials go next

Initials are considered separate units and are also filed alphabetically. So, if you have to file J.K. Smith and K. Nyugen, J.K. Smith would be filed first.

But what if the initials are same, like this: J.K. Smith and J.K. Nyugen. In this case, J. K. Nyugen will go first because we are looking at each letter (including the initials) by their designation. That means if the first letter of their surnames were same as well, we would then look at the second letter in their surname. So by that logic, J.K. Night would come before J.K. Nyugen.

Rule #3: Filing hyphenated names

How does one treat hyphenated names? It’s pretty simple – you treat hyphenated names as one unit. Whether it’s the first name, middle name or the surname that is hyphenated, it will be treated as one unit. However, the symbol in this case (the hyphen) is not considered a separate symbol and should be ignored.

Rule #4: Ignore the articles

Articles are words that describe the noun. In the English language, there are three articles: the, a, and an. You must ignore these while alphabetizing.

Example: When alphabetizing A Face and The Arm, The Arm will become before A Face.

Make sure you do not confuse the article “a” with an initial.

FYI: You can ignore articles when alphabetizing a list using the alphabetizer.

Rule #5: Spell out symbols

When symbols are part of a unit such as a name, they are spelled out. So $ is seen as Dollar and ! is seen as Exclamation Mark.

Alphabetize them as you would normal words.

Interested about learning more about how alphabetization works? Check out our article on History of Alphabetization.