Hebrew script is used to write Hebrew, as well as Yiddish, Ladino, Juhuri and other Jewish community languages, by over 10 million people. The Hebrew script descends directly from the Aramaic, but was heavily influenced by the earlier Paleo Hebrew script. Both of these were descendants of the Phoenician script. Certain Hebrew letters have alternative final variants, used when these letters appear at the end of a word. These final letter variants use their own codepoints. As with other Semitic scripts, short vowels are usually left unmarked in writing. However, vowel diacritics also exist, and are often used to disambiguate text and assist in reading. Other diacritics mark consonant variation. Liturgical texts use cantillation markers, diacritics marking accentuation and melody for recitation purposes. These texts also use special punctuation marks. The Hebrew script is one of the world’s oldest scripts still currently in use. Its centrality to Judaism is responsible for the script’s continued usage by linguistically diverse Jewish communities across the world.