Modifier letter left half ring

The modifier letter left half ring ⟨ʿ⟩ is a character found in Unicode in the Spacing Modifier Letters range (although it is not a modifier, but a standalone grapheme).^[1] It is used in romanization to transliterate the Semitic abjad 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; but this can lead to confusion with the modifier letter right half ring.

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