Cyrillic capital letter E with diaeresis

Ӭ marks a palatalized e vowel in Kildin Sámi. “Palatalized” means the tongue moves toward the roof of the mouth while saying the vowel. The diaeresis is part of this spelling, not decoration; the letter helps distinguish this vowel from others.

How did Ӭ enter Kildin Sámi writing?

Ӭ belongs to the modern extended Cyrillic alphabet for Kildin Sámi. Earlier Kola Sámi records from 1876 include Cyrillic transcriptions; the first Kola Sámi book, a Gospel from 1878, used an older Cyrillic letter set. A Latin-based school alphabet appeared in 1933, and Cyrillic returned in 1937. The extended system developed in the 1970s–1980s, with a modern primer in 1982. Ӭ, Ӓ, and Ҍ are connected parts of this spelling system: Ӓ marks another vowel, while Ҍ is a separate sign associated with “half-palatalization.”