核心提示：在古英语中，如果你想指字母表，就要用一个由头四个字母组成的词:a-be-ce-de。在中世纪英语中，它被简写为a-be-ce，或者如我们现在拼写的ABC。
“Alphabet，” From Ancient Greece to Google “字母表”，从古希腊到谷歌
When Google announced this week that it was creating a parent company called Alphabet， tech and business observers were left scratching their heads. Why would such a distinctive brand subsume itself under a rubric as generic-sounding as “Alphabet”？
Google chief executive Larry Page shared the news by explaining， “We liked the name Alphabet because it means a collection of letters that represent language， one of humanity"s most important innovations， and is the core of how we index with Google search！” Beyond that， the name has a hidden meaning for potential investors. “We also like that it means alpha-bet （Alpha is investment return above benchmark）， which we strive for，” Mr. Page added.
By betting on “Alphabet，” Google is relying on a word that we all learn as children but has only existed in English for about five centuries. In Old English， if you wanted to refer to the alphabet， you would use a word formed from the first four letters: “a-be-ce-de.” In Middle English this was shortened to“a-be-ce，” or as we would now spell it， “ABC.”
Around 1500， when classical scholarship was all the rage， English borrowed the Latin“alphabetum，” which in turn came from the Greek “alphabetos，” derived from the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet，“alpha” and “beta.”
Those names can trace their lineage back to the ancient Phoenician writing system. The“alpha” equivalent was shaped like a cow"s head， named after the Phoenician word for “ox.” Similarly， “beta” meant “house” and was shaped like one. In the alphabetic system，those characters came to stand for the initial sounds of the pictured words.
As “alphabet” shed its Greek classical sound in English， “alpha” and “beta” developed their own particular meanings as “primary” and “secondary” in order of importance. Astronomers， for instance， use the letter names for the brightest and second-brightest stars in a constellation.
In the late 1930s， zoologists began talking of “alpha” and “beta” animals， referring to the first- and second-ranked individuals in a community， typically males. The words have been applied more wryly to professional hierarchies， such as Silicon Valley types getting categorized as “alpha” or “beta” geeks.
The most common use of the letters in tech circles is in software testing. Initial in-house “alpha testing” of a product is followed by more public “beta testing” of a “beta version.” Google， notoriously， likes to keep many of its products in “perpetual beta，”continually tinkering with them.
Mr. Page"s allusion to Google"s “alpha-bet”illustrates a new business-minded trajectory for the letter names among quantitative financial analysts， or “quants.” As Journal reporter Scott Patterson wrote in his 2010 book “The Quants，” “alpha” signifies a return on investment that outperforms a benchmark index，while “beta” is “shorthand for plain-vanilla market returns anyone with half a brain can achieve.”
Achieving “alpha，” Mr. Patterson explains， carries the “ephemeral promise of vast riches.” Google has， of course， reaped more-than-ephemeral riches for its investors so far， and the alpha geeks are betting that their latest “alpha-bet” will continue to pay off.
本周，当谷歌宣布将成立一家名为“字母表”的母公司时，科技界和商业界的观察家们都感到百思不得其解。如此有特色的一个品牌，为什么要屈尊于“字母表”这么一个听上去普普通通的名号呢？
谷歌的首席执行官拉里·佩奇在宣布这个消息时解释说:“我们喜欢‘字母表’这个名字，是因为它的意思是字母的集合，而字母代表了人类最重要的发明之一——语言，而且字母表是我们谷歌搜索进行索引的核心所在！”除此之外，这个名字对于有意向的投资者来说还有一层隐含的意思。佩奇接着说:“我们喜欢它还因为它意为优等投注（阿尔法是指高于基准收益的投资回报），那正是我们努力想达到的。”
通过下注于“字母表”，谷歌把希望寄托在一个我们从小就学过、但存在于英语才约5个世纪的词语上。在古英语中，如果你想指字母表，就要用一个由头四个字母组成的词:a-be-ce-de。在中世纪英语中，它被简写为a-be-ce，或者如我们现在拼写的ABC。
1500年左右古典学问风靡一时之际，英语借用了拉丁语的“alphabetum”一词，后者出自希腊语“alphabetos”，该词源于希腊字母表中头两个字母的名称:阿尔法和贝塔。
它们的名称可以追溯到古代腓尼基书写系统。与阿尔法对应的符号形状像一个牛头，取自腓尼基文“公牛”一词。同样，贝塔的意思是“房子”，形状像一所房子。在字母体系中，那些符号最终代表了这些图形文字的首音。
随着英语中“字母表”一词丢掉了其希腊语的古音，阿尔法和贝塔也派生出它们自己独特的含义，意为重要性程度上的“首要”和“次要”。例如，天文学家用这两个字母指代星座中最亮和第二亮的恒星。
20世纪30年代末期，动物学家开始提到动物界中的“阿尔法”和“贝塔”，指一个种群中排名第一和第二的个体，通常为雄性。更让人哭笑不得的是这两个词还被用于指职业层级，如硅谷人被分为阿尔法极客或贝塔极客。
科技圈最常用到这两个字母的是在软件测试领域。一个产品完成最初的内部“阿尔法测试”后就是“贝塔版”更公开的“贝塔测试”。众所周知，谷歌喜欢把它的许多产品定为“永久的贝塔版”，不断在修修补补。
佩奇暗示谷歌在进行“优等投注”的说法说明，在定量金融分析师即“宽客”中，这两个字母的名称有了新的商业化演变。正如《华尔街日报》记者斯科特·帕特森在2010年出版的《宽客》一书中所写，“阿尔法”表示业绩跑赢基准指数的投资回报，“贝塔”则“代指基本的市场回报，但凡有点脑子的人都能做到”。
帕特森先生解释说，实现“阿尔法”回报“有望在短时间内获得巨大财富”。当然到目前为止，谷歌为其投资者们所创造的财富岂止是短时间内的，而且这些阿尔法极客们断定，他们的最新“优等投注”将继续带来回报。（涂颀译自美国《华尔街日报》网站8月13日文章）
