It was created by Semitic-speaking workers and slaves in the Sinai Peninsula in modern-day Egypt, by selecting a small number of hieroglyphs commonly seen in their Egyptian surroundings to describe the sounds, as opposed to the semantic values of the Canaanite languages.
ɪt wʌz kɹiːˈeɪɾᵻd baɪ sɛmˈɪɾɪkspˈiːkɪŋ wˈɜːkɚz ænd slˈeɪvz ɪnðə sˈaɪnaɪ pənˈɪnsjʊlə ɪn mˈɑːdɚndˈeɪ ˈiːdʒɪpt, baɪ sᵻlˈɛktɪŋ ɐ smˈɔːl nˈʌmbɚɹ ʌv hˈaɪɚɹəɡlˌɪfz kˈɑːmənli sˈiːn ɪn ðɛɹ ɪdʒˈɪpʃən sɚɹˈaʊndɪŋz tə dᵻskɹˈaɪb ðə sˈaʊndz, æz əpˈoʊzd tə ðə səmˈæntɪk vˈæljuːz ʌvðə kˈænɑːnˌaɪt lˈæŋɡwɪdʒᵻz.