The Evolution of the Roman Alphabet

Greeks established many colonies throughout the northern coastal lands of the Mediterranean. The Greek alphabet, as expected in such a disjointed society, had local variants. Those Greeks who settled the lands that would become the Etruscan lands would bring their alphabet with them. This is how the letters Y and Z were stuck onto the end of the Roman alphabet today. It would be thanks to the success of the Roman Empire that the Roman alphabet is the most widely used script in the modern world. Many European languages would adopt it in front of their travels around the world.