Bamum letter Sho

It writes the Bamum syllable “sho.” The sound starts like “sh” in “ship” and ends with an open “o” like the vowel in “thought” for many English speakers; linguists transcribe it /ʃɔ/. In a Bamum word, it contributes that spoken syllable. The combining mark ꛰ can change its sound; a combining mark is a small sign attached to a letter.

Bamum writing began around 1896 in the Bamum kingdom, in present-day Cameroon, under King Njoya and collaborators at his court. Its earliest form was a large logographic system: signs tied to words, objects, and actions, used as a memory aid. By around 1910, it had become a syllabary, where signs represent spoken syllables. The Sho glyph changed with the writing phases: 𖧳 in Phases A–E, 𖨩 in Phase F, and ꛖ in Phase G.

By 2022, revival work taught Bamum writing as cultural heritage to local schoolchildren. That describes the script’s role, not a special message attached to ꛖ.

How can I type ꛖ?

Use a Bamum keyboard or character picker that supports the script. For occasional entry, select it in a character picker; for regular Bamum writing, use a keyboard or input method built for the script.