It is necessary to check the variable is it a string without spaces. I read this here http://framework.zend.com/manual/2.2/en/modules/zend.validator.set.html#alpha it says that you need to use the class Zend \ Validator \ Alpha, as it turns out it is not in the given path. Found the class Zend\I18n\Validator\Alpha
valid = new \Zend\I18n\Validator\Alpha(); valid->isValid('ok');
Causes the exception Zend \ I18n \ Filter component requires the intl PHP extension