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).[1] 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),[2] 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 | |
|---|---|
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
editReferences
edit- ^ Spacing Modifier Letters. The Unicode Consortium, 1991–2022.
- ^ IJMES Translation and Transliteration Guide. Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022.
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