Combining Comma Below

It modifies the letter before it; alone, it has no ordinary reading. In text, the mark follows its base letter even though a font draws it below.

Romanian spelling uses it after s or t to form ș and ț. Diacritics let Romanian reformers adapt the Latin alphabet to Romanian sounds; this mark is part of those letters, not punctuation on its own.

In 1819, Petru Maior published a Romanian spelling system that was reprinted in 1825 in the Buda Lexicon, a Romanian dictionary. That tradition used cedilla terminology as well as comma-shaped marks; the Romanian Academy specified comma-shaped diacritics in 2003.

Why does the same shape mean different things?

The base letter and language determine its role. In Romanian, the mark after s or t forms distinct letters. Turkish ş uses a cedilla, while some Latvian typography renders cedilla-coded letters with comma-shaped marks.

This mark and the combining cedilla are separate characters, though fonts may draw them alike. On lowercase g, some fonts place the comma above the letter to clear its descender.

How do I type combining comma below?

Put it immediately after the letter it modifies. In an editor that handles combining text poorly, use the precomposed Romanian letter instead.

Shown alone, the mark may appear on a dotted circle. On lowercase g, some fonts place it above the letter to clear the descender.