Chartered Institute
of Linguists
From Tuscany to the World: how the Etruscans shaped our alphabet
By Mark Robinson
On a recent visit to Volterra in Tuscany, I took time to explore the Museo Etrusco Guarnacci, one of Italy’s oldest museums and a treasure house of Etruscan artefacts. Among the urns, sculptures, and delicate jewellery, one fact stood out: the Etruscan alphabet - adapted from the Greeks - was the very script that later formed the basis of the Roman alphabet. From there, it spread across Europe and beyond, eventually becoming the alphabet that we use in English today.
Languages shaped by the force of history
It is a humbling reminder of how languages are never static. They are constantly being shaped by the great forces of history - migration, trade, conquest and cultural exchange. The Etruscans borrowed from the Greeks, the Romans borrowed from the Etruscans, and centuries later, the English language borrowed extensively from Latin and French. What we take for granted as “ours” is often a mosaic of influences stretching back thousands of years.
Languages and modern business
As a translation company, we see this living history every day. Modern business communication relies on tools shaped by centuries of linguistic evolution. The words on a pharmaceutical leaflet, the scientific and legal terminology in a patent specification, or the marketing slogan aimed at a new audience - all of them carry echoes of this long history of exchange and adaptation.
Standing in that museum in Volterra, surrounded by carved stone and inscriptions in a language long vanished, one can’t help but feel connected to this continuum. Translation is part of that same story: it is the act of passing meaning from one culture to another, ensuring ideas endure and travel. Just as the Etruscans unknowingly passed on the alphabet, translators today help pass on knowledge, understanding, and opportunity - shaping the languages of tomorrow.
Mark Robinson MCIL Chartered Linguist, CIOL Council member and Director of Alexika Ltd. This article was originally published on the Alexika website.
Views expressed on CIOL Voices are those of the writer and may not represent those of the wider membership or CIOL.
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