Final answer:
The Phoenicians had a significant influence on the Western world through their development of the alphabet.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Phoenicians had a significant influence on the Western world through their development of the alphabet. The Ionian Greeks, working from the Phoenician version, developed their own syllabic alphabet, which was later adopted and adapted by the Greeks and Romans. This alphabet served as the basis of the alphabets used in all Latinate European languages, including English.