Genealogy of scripts derived from Proto-Sinaitic

Nearly all the segmental scripts (loosely "alphabets", but see below for more precise terminology) used around the globe appear to have derived from the Proto-Sinaitic alphabet. These include the Latin alphabet — forms of which are used today to write numerous languages — but also such disparate cousins as the writing systems of Hebrew, Arabic, both runes, Ethiopic, Devanagari writing of India, the native scripts of the Philippines and Indonesia, and perhaps Cree "syllabics" and, to a limited degree, Korean Hangul. There are also syllabic systems derived superficially from these alphabets, such as Cherokee and the Japanese Sign Language syllabary.

Only a few alphabets are not graphically derived from this family of scripts, such as Ol Chiki (for Santali), Zhuyin (Chinese phonics), Tāna (Maldivian), and the extinct Ogham (Old Irish) and semi-alphabetic Old Persian cuneiform scripts. Some of the others were constructed, such as N'Ko (Bambara) and Braille, rather than deriving from an existing writing system.

The first Middle Bronze Age alphabets were adapted from Egyptian hieroglyphs. A possibly independent alphabet, Meroitic, was also adapted from Egyptian hieroglyphs, and therefore may be a cousin to the Proto-Sinaitic family.

Genealogy

"Scripts that are still used are marked in bold"
* 0. Wadi el-Ħôl to Proto-Sinaitic - c. 1800 BC (Egypt)
** 1. Ugaritic abjad - c. 1500 BC (Syria)
** 2. Proto-Canaanite abjad - c. 1400 BC (Canaan)
*** 2.1. Phoenician / Paleo-Hebrew abjad - c. 1100 BC (Canaan)
**** 2.1.1. Aramaic abjad - c. 800 BC (Syria)
***** 2.1.1.1. "Brahmi abugida" - c. 600 BC (India, Sri Lanka)
****** 2.1.1.1.1. "Cham abugida" - c. AD 200 (Vietnam, Cambodia)
****** 2.1.1.1.2. "Gupta abugida" - c. 400 (N. India)
******* 2.1.1.1.2.1. "Siddham abugida" - c. 600 (N. India)
******** 2.1.1.1.2.1.1 "Tibetan abugida" - c. 650 (Tibet)
********* 2.1.1.1.2.1.1.1 "Phagspa abugida" - 1269 (Mongolia)
********* 2.1.1.1.2.1.1.2 "Lepcha abugida" - c. 1700 (Bhutan)
********** 2.1.1.1.2.1.1.2.1 "Limbu abugida" - c. 1740 (Sikkim)
******* 2.1.1.1.2.2. "Nagari abugida" - c. 750 (India)
******** 2.1.1.1.2.2.1. "Bengali abugida" - c. 1050 (E. India, Bangladesh)
********* 2.1.1.1.2.2.1.1. "Oriya abugida" - c. 1100 (E. India)
******** 2.1.1.1.2.2.2. "Devanagari abugida" - c. 1100 (India)
********* 2.1.1.1.2.2.2.1. "Newari / Ranjana abugida" - c. 1150 (Nepal)
********** 2.1.1.1.2.2.2.1.1 "Soyombo abugida" - c. 1686 (Mongolia)
********* 2.1.1.1.2.2.2.2. "Modi abugida" - c. 1600 (India)
********* 2.1.1.1.2.2.2.3. "Gujarati abugida" - c. 1600 (India)
********* 2.1.1.1.2.2.2.4. "Cree abugida" - 1841 (Canada)
******* 2.1.1.1.2.3. "Sharada abugida" - c. 770 (Pakistan)
******** 2.1.1.1.2.3.1 "Gurmukhi abugida" - c. 1539 (Pakistan, N. India)
****** 2.1.1.1.3. "Pallava abugida" - c. 400 (S. India)
******* 2.1.1.1.3.1. "Khmer abugida" - c. 600 (Cambodia)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.1.1. "Thai abugida" - 1283 (Thailand)
********* 2.1.1.1.3.1.1.1. "Lao abugida" - c. 1350 (Laos)
******* 2.1.1.1.3.2. "Mon abugida" - c. 700 (Burma)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.2.1. "Burmese abugida" - c. 1050 (Burma)
******* 2.1.1.1.3.3. "Old Kawi abugida" - c. 775 (Indonesia)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.1. "Javanese abugida" - c. 900 (Indonesia)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.2. "Balinese abugida" - c. 1000 (Indonesia)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.3. "Old Sundanese abugida" - c. 1300 (Indonesia)
********* 2.1.1.1.3.3.3.1. "Formal Sundanese abugida" - 1997 (Indonesia)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.4. "Batak abugida" - c. 1300 (Indonesia)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.5. "Baybayin abugida" - c. 1300 (Philippines)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.6. "Buhid abugida" - c. 1300 (Philippines)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.7. "Hanunó'o abugida" - c. 1300 (Philippines)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.8. "Tagbanwa abugida" - c. 1300 (Philippines)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.9. "Lontara abugida" - c. 1600 (Indonesia)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.10. "Rejang abugida" - ? (Indonesia)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.11. "Lampung abugida" - ? (Indonesia)
******** 2.1.1.1.3.3.12. "Kerinci abugida" - ? (Indonesia)
****** 2.1.1.1.4. "Kadamba abugida" - c. 450 (S India)
******* 2.1.1.1.4.1. "Kannada abugida" - c. 1500 (S.India)
******* 2.1.1.1.4.2. "Telugu abugida" - c. 1500 (S. India)
****** 2.1.1.1.5. "Kalinga abugida" - c. 500 (E India)
****** 2.1.1.1.6. "Grantha abugida" - c. 500 (S India)
******* 2.1.1.1.6.1. "Sinhala abugida" - c. 700 (Sri Lanka)
******** 2.1.1.1.6.1.1. "Dhives Akuru abugida" - c. 1100 (Maldives)
******* 2.1.1.1.6.2. "Tamil abugida" - c. 700 (India, Sri Lanka)
******** 2.1.1.1.6.2.1. "Sourashtra abugida" - c. 1900 (S. India)
******* 2.1.1.1.6.3. "Malayalam abugida" - c. 1100 (S. India)
****** 2.1.1.1.7. "Tocharian abugida" - c. 500 (W. China)
****** 2.1.1.1.8. "Ahom abugida" - c. 1250 (E. India)
***** 2.1.1.2. Modern Hebrew abjad - c. 300 BC (Israel)
***** 2.1.1.3. "Kharosthi abugida" - c. 250 BC (Pakistan, Afghanistan)
***** 2.1.1.4. Pahlavi abjad - c. 200 BC (NE. Iran, W. China)
****** 2.1.1.4.1. Avestan alphabet - c. AD 400 (SW. Iran)
***** 2.1.1.5. Syriac abjad - c. 200 BC (Syria, Iraq)
****** 2.1.1.5.1. Sogdian abjad - c. AD 100 (Uzbekistan)
******* 2.1.1.5.1.1. Manichaean abjad - c. 300 (N.E. Iran)
******* 2.1.1.5.1.2. Georgian alphabet - c. 430 (Georgia)
******* 2.1.1.5.1.3. Orkhon alphabet - c. 700 (Mongolia)
******** 2.1.1.5.1.3.1. Old Hungarian alphabet - c. 900 (Hungary)
******* 2.1.1.5.1.4. Uyghur alphabet - c. 1000 (NW China)
******** 2.1.1.5.1.4.1. Mongolian alphabet - c. 1100 (Mongolia)
********* 2.1.1.5.1.4.1.1. Manchu alphabet - 1599 (NE China)
******** 2.1.1.5.1.4.2. Todo alphabet - 1649 (NW China)
***** 2.1.1.6. Nabataean abjad - c. 200 BC (Jordan)
****** 2.1.1.6.1. Arabic abjad - c. AD 400 (Jordan, N. Arabia)
******* 2.1.1.6.1.1. Jawi abjad - c. 1300 (Malaysia, Brunei)
***** 2.1.1.7. Mandaic alphabet - c. 100 (Iran)
**** 2.1.2. Samaritan abjad - c. 600 BC (Israel)
**** 2.1.3. Alphabets of Asia Minor - c. 800 BC (Anatolia)
**** 2.1.4. Greek alphabet - c. 800 BC (Greece) (first adds vowels)
***** 2.1.4.1. Cumae alphabet - c. 750 BC (Greece, Italy)
****** 2.1.4.1.1. Etruscan alphabet - c. 700 BC (Italy)
******* 2.1.4.1.1.1. Venetic alphabet - c. 700 BC (Italy)
******** 2.1.4.1.1.1.1. Runic alphabet - c. AD 150 (Germany, Scandinavia)
******* 2.1.4.1.1.2. Latin alphabet - c. 700 BC (Italy)
******** 2.1.4.1.1.2.1. Faliscan alphabet - c. 400 BC (Italy)
******* 2.1.4.1.1.3. Oscan alphabet - c. 600 BC (Italy)
****** 2.1.4.1.2. Messapic alphabet - c. 550 BC (Italy)
***** 2.1.4.2. Greco-Iberian alphabet - c. 400 BC (Spain)
***** 2.1.4.3. Coptic alphabet - c. 200 BC (Egypt)
***** 2.1.4.4. Gothic alphabet - c. AD 300 (Ukraine)
***** 2.1.4.5. Armenian alphabet - 405 (Armenia)
***** 2.1.4.6. Glagolitic alphabet - 862 (Bulgaria)
****** 2.1.4.6.1. Cyrillic alphabet - c. 940 (Bulgaria)
******* 2.1.4.6.1.1. Old Permic script - 1372 (Siberia)
******* 2.1.4.6.1.2. Abkhaz alphabet - 1865 (Abkhazia)
**** 2.1.5 "Tartessian semi-syllabary" - c. 600 BC (Portugal and Spain)
***** 2.1.5.1. "Southeastern Iberian semi-syllabary" - c. 400 BC (Spain)
****** 2.1.5.1.1 "Northeastern Iberian semi-syllabary" - c. 400 BC (Spain and France)
******* 2.1.5.1.1.1 "Celtiberian semi-syllabary" - c. 200 BC (Spain)
**** 2.1.6. Tifinagh abjad - c. 250 BC (NW Africa)
***** 2.1.6.1. Neo-Tifinagh alphabet - c. AD 1965 (Morocco)
** 3. South Arabian abjad - c. 900 BC (Arabian Peninsula, Ethiopia, Eritrea [=D'mt] )
*** 3.1. Old Geez abjad - c. 500 BC (Ethiopia, Eritrea)
**** 3.1.1. "Ge'ez abugida" - c. AD 300 (Ethiopia, Eritrea [=Aksum] )
*** 3.2. Thamudic abjad - c. 200 BC (N. Arabia)

Notes

*The dates are intended to show the approximate 'birthdate' of a script; however in many cases (marked by 'c.') they are widely approximate, and may be off even by centuries. In several cases, the development of one script into another was a gradual process over several centuries, that is difficult to pin down with precision. Following that, in parentheses, is the name of one or two modern countries corresponding to the region where the script was first widely used. In a few cases, a direct graphic letter-to-letter correspondence cannot be precisely established between a 'parent script' and its children, making the exact placement of some family members somewhat controversial, eg. in the case of the Georgian alphabet. Much of the information here was compiled from the [http://ancientscripts.com "Ancient Scripts"] and [http://www.omniglot.com "Omniglot"] websites, which do not always agree. Despite many of these scripts commonly being called "alphabets", the recent linguistic classifications of "abugidas" and "semi-syllabaries" are shown in Italic; the others are abjads or alphabets proper. Many of these scripts are no longer widely used for writing any language today, having been abandoned in favor of others; those that still are have been marked in bold.
*Some scholars, including Gari Ledyard, believe that the core consonants of Hangul were taken from the earlier Phagspa script, with the other consonants derived from these. See Gari Ledyard for more complete information.

ee also

*History of the alphabet