Ethiopic Syllable Hhye

It is the /ɨ/ form of a palatalized fricative series.

The modern Gurage Fider is a syllabary: each Ethiopic character writes a consonant-and-vowel syllable. “Palatalized” means the tongue moves toward the palate as the consonant is formed; a fricative is made by forcing air through a narrow gap. This series is used in Inor, Mesqan and Sebat Bet, but not Soddo. On the GFF Gurage Keyman 1.0.1 layout, uppercase H alone enters 𞟥.

The earlier spelling ⷕ belongs to a long series of Gurage revisions. The first published set of extra Ethiopic syllables appeared in 1966: Sahle Selassie Berhane Mariam wrote Chaha village stories for linguist Wolf Leslau’s research corpus, using added letters for Gurage sounds the regular inventory lacked. Fekede Menuta’s 2013 redesign simplified and reassigned the palatalized series to make reading and learning easier. The regional council endorsed it in 2019, and public schools adopted it in September 2020.