Gha

Last updated
Gha
Ƣ ƣ
ğ, ꝙ
Latin letter OIoi.svg
Usage
Writing system Latin script
Type Alphabetic
Language of origin Azerbaijani language
Sound values[ ɣ ]
[ ʁ ]
In  Unicode U+01A2, U+01A3
Alphabetical position18 (after Q)
History
Development
Gha
Time period~1900 to 1983
Sisters Q
Φ φ
Փ փ
Ֆ ֆ
Transliterations ğ, q, g, gh, Ғ
Variations ğ, ꝙ
Other
Writing directionLeft-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.

The letter Ƣ (minuscule: ƣ) was used in the Latin orthographies of various, mostly Turkic languages, such as Azeri or the Jaꞑalif orthography for Tatar. [1] It was also included in the pinyin-based alphabets for Kazakh and Uyghur and in the 1928 Soviet Kurdish Latin alphabet. [2] It usually represents a voiced velar fricative [ ɣ ] but is sometimes used for a voiced uvular fricative [ ʁ ]. All orthographies that used the letter were phased out, and it is not supported in all Latin fonts. It can still be seen in pre-1983 books published in the People’s Republic of China.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Letters Q and q of Sutterlin script Sutterlin-Q.png
Letters Q and q of Sütterlin script

Historically, it is derived from a handwritten form of the small Latin letter q around 1900. The majuscule is then based on the minuscule. Its use for [ ɣ ] stems from the linguistic tradition of representing such sounds (and similar ones) by q in Turkic languages and in transcriptions of Arabic or Persian (compare kaf and qaf). [3]

In alphabetical order, it comes between G and H.

Modern replacements

Unicode

In Unicode, the majuscule Ƣ is encoded in the Latin Extended-B block at U+01A2 and the minuscule ƣ is encoded at U+01A3. [4] The assigned names, "LATIN CAPITAL LETTER OI" and "LATIN SMALL LETTER OI" respectively, are acknowledged by the Unicode Consortium to be mistakes, as gha is unrelated to the letters O and I. [5] The Unicode Consortium therefore has provided the character name aliases "LATIN CAPITAL LETTER GHA" and "LATIN SMALL LETTER GHA". [4]

Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow features an episode purporting to be the story of a Soviet officer, Tchitcherine, dispatched to Kirghizstan to serve on a committee tasked with devising an alphabet for the Kyrgyz language. Tchitcherine's particular contribution is the invention of the letter Ƣ, which is thus perhaps the only obsolete letter of a Central Asian language that may be familiar to the non-specialist, English-reading public through a widely circulated novel.

References

  1. ↑ "Some examples of LATIN LETTER OI (gha) (U+01A2, U+01A3) in Tatar and Uighur printing, with remarks on the recommended glyphs" (PDF).
  2. ↑ Культура и письменность Востока[Eastern Culture and Literature] (in Russian). Vol. 2. 1928.
  3. ↑ "Unicode mailing list".
  4. 1 2 "Unicode chart" (PDF).
  5. ↑ "Unicode Technical Note #27: Known Anomalies in Unicode Character Names".
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