Ethiopic Syllable Sa

It writes one s-and-vowel syllable in Ethiopic writing. The script, often called fidel, groups forms into consonant series: ሰ is one member of the s series, with its vowel built into the character. Amharic, Tigrinya and Tigre use Ethiopic writing, with language-specific spelling conventions.

Ethiopic script history reflects local development from South Arabian writing brought to northern Ethiopia through Red Sea contact. A distinct Ethiopic script appears in inscriptions from the second/third centuries CE, and vowel marking had developed by the fourth century. Royal inscriptions show public use; the Geʽez manuscript tradition carried Christian biblical and patristic writing, much translated from Greek.

Why does ሰ change when I type a vowel?

A following vowel key can select another syllable. On mnemonic Ethiopic layouts, consonant and vowel keys select one syllabic character; the exact sequence depends on the layout, not Unicode. A following vowel key can therefore select another form in the s series.

A typeface can change how ሰ is drawn without changing the encoded character; fonts do not all use the same Ethiopic glyph design.