scientific, cultural and spiritual activities has long been the most important spheres of life of human societies.However, she could not exist without the basic means of communication - the language.One of the greatest in the history of mankind was Latin.She created the famous literary and scientific sights of the ancient world.Latin letters and language are fundamental among European intellectuals, pundits, and in the spiritual realm for many years after the fall of the ancient civilization.Their influence today we can feel quite at age sciences.Roman words and phrases has consistently featured in medicine, history, philosophy, mathematics.In his everyday life, even in Russia we are seeing on a daily basis hundreds of inscriptions in foreign languages.Typically, this is English, which is not an exaggeration to say today dominates the cultural and information space of the planet.However, it was not always.English took the position only on the international sunset colonial era.For centuries before the means of communication of various nations together once served as Latin.Moreover, without exception, modern Western European languages (and some Central European, as well as the peoples of both Americas) contain in their writing letters.After all alphabets Romance and Germanic peoples today are direct descendants of the ancient writing.Even the languages are a synthesis of those that are characteristic of the Late Roman period and the local barbaric dialects less (as in Italian or Spanish) or more (in English or German) of the shares of the latter.
Origin alphabet
But there own letters?This is what the ancestors have actually been?If you dig deeper into the ancient ages, it turns out that this alphabet, essentially comes from the Greek.The latter, in turn, was the direct heir of the Phoenician.However, a direct evolution of both the letter formed the basis of the Greek letters, to trace remains elusive.There is also a hypothesis that the process of their formation significantly influenced Etruscan writing.And the assumption is very popular among historians antichnikov since Etruscan town really dominated the cultural and spiritual life of the Italian peninsula in the pre-Roman period (and the first Roman kings were Etruscan in origin).In addition, it is interesting to note that the very Etruscan writing, despite the fact that archaeologists restored her appearance, still undeciphered.As for the Latin letters, the first dated inscription found VII century BCThis alphabet was originally included 21 letters, 23 were later used in the classical period of Roman culture.Then Roman legions maintained their own civilization model on three continents.
letters and numbers
And it should be remembered that in addition to the famous alphabet, the Italians have given the world, and the number system.It is also used for a long period, however, unlike the letters zaimela formidable opponent.They became an Arab model of calculation.It is the latter has proven to be most convenient and efficient, first to the east and then the west.The use of Roman numerals today often looks rather a tribute to tradition than do rational necessity.
