Roman and Hebrew alphabets each provide the written form for several languages. The Hebrew alphabet serves as the base for writing Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino. Jews in Eastern Europe traditionally spoke Yiddish, a specifically Jewish language which, in its spoken form, has similarities to German. Ladino, also called Judeo-Spanish, developed from the form of Spanish that Jews spoke in Mediterranean and Baltic countries, including Turkey, Greece, Rhodes, Macedonia, Bosnia and Serbia. Jews wrote both languages with Hebrew letters. Many Western languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese, use the Roman alphabet for writing.
Individuals who learn written English or Hebrew may make use of symbols that the written forms of each language sometimes employ. These symbols provide guidance to readers who wish to ascertain the correct pronunciation of each letter. In English, the symbols appear above vowel letters, telling the reader whether the vowel has a long or short sound. In Hebrew the symbols, which can appear on any letter, include a system of dots and dashes to guide the reader as to whether the letter should have an "ooh," "ah," "ay," or "ee" sound.
Hebrew and Roman letters both have numerical equivalents. The numerical equivalent of Roman letters, called Roman numerals, allows users to signify the sum of a value by using letters. Letters used in writing Roman numerals include I for 1, V for 5, X for 10, L for 50, C for 100, D for 500 and M for 1000. Each Hebrew letter has a numerical meaning which Jewish and Kabbalah scholars use to ascertain the deeper, mystical meanings of words and names. Numerical values of Hebrew letters include the aleph for 1, yud for 10, kaf for 20, lamed for 30 and kuf for 100.
The Roman and Hebrew alphabets both include printed and cursive letters. Roman cursive writing connects letters to each other when forming words. In Hebrew, each cursive letter stands alone. Hebrew and Roman alphabets also include calligraphy styles.