Bamum Letter Phase-E Taaq

It is an older Bamum sign transcribed “taaq.” The final q marks a brief catch in the throat, called a glottal stop, like the break between the two parts of “uh-oh.”

King Ibrahim Njoya and his scribes devised Bamum writing around 1896 for the Bamum language in what is now western Cameroon. The earliest version, called Lerewa or Lewa, used hundreds of signs for words and ideas; the script was revised through later phases toward a syllabary, where each sign represents a syllable. A surviving manuscript of the first version is dated 1897. Phase E is the last phase in which this sign is attested, not the endpoint of Bamum writing.

Courts and schools used the script for histories, medicine, maps, correspondence and administration. Bamum-script schooling declined through the 1920s as colonial rule weakened Njoya’s authority and students moved to colonial schools. Most Bamum writers use the modern Phase-G script; specialists consult older signs for historical and language work. As of 2026, Bamum heritage projects also teach the script.

What does it mean when someone sends 𖦡?

Read it as a sample of historical Bamum writing. A lone sign gives its recorded value, not the meaning of a whole passage. If the sender expects you to understand a text, ask for the surrounding Bamum words or the manuscript context.