Dives Akuru Letter Aa

It writes the independent long ā vowel. This is the standalone letter for a lengthened “a” sound in Dhivehi, the language of the Maldives; its short-vowel counterpart is 𑤀. The related sign 𑤰 writes the same long vowel only when attached to a consonant.

Dives Akuru developed from Brahmi through Grantha, an older South Asian script, and its closest documented script relationship is to medieval Sinhala. The earliest Maldivian inscription, a coral block from Landū dated to the 6th–8th centuries, is in Grantha rather than distinctive Dives Akuru. Distinctive Dives Akuru appears on Māle statues dated to the 9th–10th centuries.

From the 12th century, rulers used Dives Akuru on lōmāfānu, copper-plate grants connected with mosque building and maintenance. Later paper and wooden records, and Arabic written alongside Dives Akuru, show its role in record-keeping. Thaana, another script for Dhivehi, had replaced Dives Akuru for regular writing by the turn of the 19th century.

How do I type Dives Akuru AA?

Use Unicode hexadecimal input if your editor supports it. The exact keystrokes vary by operating system, and font support is a separate requirement.

A 2022 Microsoft Word report describes an unsupported fallback font disrupting Dives Akuru shaping. If the surrounding characters display incorrectly, check the active font as well as the input method.