Cham Letter Ja

It marks the consonant sound heard at the start of “jam.”

In Eastern Cham, its sound is close to the “j” at the start of English “jam.” The Cham language has Eastern and Western dialects. This Brahmi-derived script is used especially by Eastern Cham communities; Western Cham also has a writing tradition using Arabic letters. The Cham script developed through Pallava, a writing system used in South India. Most Cham consonants carry a default vowel sound; vowel signs and other letters complete the syllable. Alone, ꨎ is only one part of a word.

Cham inscriptions appear around the 5th century CE in both Sanskrit and Cham; inscribed texts continue through the 13th century. From the 15th century, manuscripts use Middle Cham, a more cursive handwriting style for sacred and secular writing. From the 19th century, modern Cham texts also appear in scholarly romanization—Cham words written with Latin letters.

What can you tell from ꨎ alone?

Alone, it identifies a letter but not a whole Cham word.

Ask for the surrounding text before translating it. If it appears as a box, the receiving font or text-shaping system may not support Cham; the display problem does not change the character.