Latin gamma

For the Greek letter, see Gamma.

For the IPA symbol, see Voiced velar fricative.

The Latin letter gamma, Ɣ (minuscule: ɣ), is a letter used in some orthographies based on the Latin alphabet. Its shape, in uppercase and lowercase, is based on the lowercase shape of the Greek letter gamma (γ). Unlike the Greek gamma, the Latin gamma may have serifs.

Gamma
Ɣ ɣ
Usage
Writing system	Latin script
Type	Alphabetic and Logographic
In Unicode	U+0194, U+0263
History
Development	(speculated origin) Γ γ Ɣ ɣ
Other
Writing direction	Left-to-Right
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Latin gamma is used to represent a voiced velar fricative, in the International Phonetic Alphabet, and in the alphabets of several African languages such as Yom,^[1] Dagbani, Dinka, Kabiyé, and Ewe, some Berber languages using the Berber Latin alphabet, and sometimes in the romanization of Pashto. It is also used in the Wakhi language's Latin alphabet.

Lowercase Latin gamma is used in the International Phonetic Alphabet to represent the voiced velar fricative. A lowercase Latin gamma that lies above the baseline rather than crossing it (ɤ, called "ram's horns"), represents the close-mid back unrounded vowel. In certain nonstandard variations of the IPA the uppercase form is used. The lowercase Latin gamma can also be used in contexts (such as chemical or molecule nomenclature) where gamma must not be confused with the letter y, which can occur in some computer typefaces.

Use on computers

Character information

Preview	Ɣ		ɣ
Unicode name	LATIN CAPITAL LETTER GAMMA		LATIN SMALL LETTER GAMMA
Encodings	decimal	hex	dec	hex
Unicode	404	U+0194	611	U+0263
UTF-8	198 148	C6 94	201 163	C9 A3
Numeric character reference	Ɣ	Ɣ	ɣ	ɣ

External links

• Practical Orthography of African Languages

References

1. Alphabet des langues nationales béninoises. Ministère de l’Alphabétisation et de la Promotion des langues nationales, Centre national de linguistique appliquée, Benin. 2008. OL 25931062M.