The modifier letter left half ring ⟨ʿ⟩ is a character of the Unicode Spacing Modifier Letters range (although it is not a modifier but a standalone grapheme). It is used in romanization to transliterate the Semitic letter ayin after it was used by The Encyclopedia of Islam (later the International Journal of Middle East Studies), representing the sound /ʕ/ (a voiced pharyngeal fricative, as in Arabic ع ʿayn). In informal contexts, the backtick ⟨`⟩ or the apostrophe ⟨'⟩ is commonly used as a substitute.
ʿ | |
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Modifier letter left half ring | |
U+02BF ʿ MODIFIER LETTER LEFT HALF RING. | |
See also | |
U+02BE ʾ MODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RING U+0351 ◌͑ COMBINING LEFT HALF RING ABOVE U+0357 ◌͗ COMBINING RIGHT HALF RING ABOVE |
See also
References
- Spacing Modifier Letters. The Unicode Consortium, 1991–2022.
- . Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022.