What was the reason why the first alphabets were written from right to left?

Go on a historical journey and see where the first writing systems were born. Mezopotamya’ya We are going.

Since the invention of writing Then, there are reasons behind why it is written from right to left that you may have never thought of before.

Origin of right-to-left writing

Sumerians, around 3000 BC cuneiform When he invented it, it was written from right to left. Because the first examples of this writing were engraved on clay tablets and it was easier for a right-handed person to write on clay tablets. Pushing the pen to the right was less effort than pulling.

During the same period, Egyptians also preferred to write hieroglyphs from right to left. The reason for this was again similar; They could write easily with their right hand. Moreover, Egypt’s art and writing tradition had also evolved in this direction. Writing from right to left, on stone tablets and papyri more practical was located.

It is not difficult to understand that the text was written from right to left for practical reasons.

Writing from right to left also had some practical advantages. For example, when writing with the right hand, your hand possibility of infection was lower. When writing from left to right, ink or paint could get on the writer’s hand. This was an important advantage, especially considering the quality of writing materials in ancient times.

It also had an advantage for those who wrote with their right hand, because while writing with their right hand, they could write with their left hand. They could easily open the parchment.

Even today, there are languages ​​that write from right to left.

Arabic, Hebrew and Persian Languages ​​like these continue this tradition. When we look at the historical roots of these languages, we can see that writing from right to left originates from ancient practices.

Of course, in addition to these languages, many languages ​​are now written from the left. This is the origin of western civilization Ancient Greece starting.

It is worth mentioning.

Although all these reasons are included in various sources, no one really knows how this developed and how it was decided to write from right to left. It’s just a guess.

Do you still have curiosity?

Have you ever thought about how it would read if we wrote it from right to left? Maybe it would seem a little strange, but who knows, maybe we would get used to it over time. Throughout the history direction of writingwas shaped by cultural and practical reasons.

The stories behind the writing of the first alphabets from right to left show once again how rich and interesting human history is. Even if the direction of the text changes, what it carries knowledge and culture will always remain valuable.

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