Modifier letter left half ring

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

• Modifier letter right half ring
• Half ring
• Apostrophe
• Spiritus asper

References

1. Spacing Modifier Letters. The Unicode Consortium, 1991–2022.
2. IJMES Translation and Transliteration Guide. Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022.