Ethiopic syllable Ssaa

It writes one syllable in Bench using Ethiopic script. Bench is spoken in southwestern Ethiopia; ⶣ belongs to an added syllable series made for writing it. The additions include four retroflex series—sounds made with the tongue tip curled slightly back—and ⶣ belongs to one of them.

The wider Ethiopic script was first used to write Ge’ez, then adapted for other languages such as Bench. It is linked to South Arabian writing traditions, though its exact descent is debated. Monumental Proto-Ge’ez inscriptions—early forms of the language and script—are dated around the fourth or fifth century BCE. Over time, consonant-only signs developed into syllable signs that also indicate vowels.

The Bench extensions were proposed as early as 1981. In 1998, an encoding proposal said they had been used in print for at least a decade and listed a Bench New Testament and educational materials; it records school use in 1994. A Latin-based Bench orthography was developed in 2008 and is used in schools.

How do I type ⶣ?

Use Unicode input or an Ethiopic layout with Bench extensions. ⶣ is encoded as one syllable, not assembled from a consonant and a separate vowel mark; a layout with only common Ethiopic letters may not include it.