Ethiopic syllable Kya

It spells a palatalized Gurage syllable in the series paired with ከ.

Palatalized means the middle of your tongue rises toward the hard roof of your mouth during the consonant. That tongue position distinguishes this spelling from ከ.

How did Gurage spellings change?

The modern spelling grew from a writing project.

Sahle Selassie and Wolf Leslau's Chaha project added letters for Gurage sounds. “Sebatbeit” was the early publishing label; later descriptions include Inor, Mesqan, Sebat Bet and Soddo.

Later spellings revised palatalized and labialized forms. Older Gurage print could use added marks or approximate glyphs for the same forms.