Ethiopic Syllable Tthaa

It writes one syllable in the Gamo-Gofa-Dawro and Basketo systems.

These are Ethiopic writing systems that use ꬃ inside words as a syllable sign. “Tthaa” is the Latin transliteration label for the syllable; other letters in the tth series represent different vowel syllables.

How did ꬃ join Ethiopic writing?

ꬃ is a later extension of Ethiopic syllable writing.

The Ethiopic script developed from ancient South Arabian consonant writing, which recorded consonants without marking vowels. Clearly defined Ethiopic inscriptions date to the second or third century CE; by the fourth century CE, the script had developed into an abugida, where consonant signs also indicate vowels. Classical Geʽez, an older language written in Ethiopic, belongs to this earlier history.

The Unicode proposal for the tth series included examples from Gamo, Gofa, and Dawro Gospel editions and a Basketo trial Gospel. It aimed to make these spelling systems available as digital text; ꬃ belongs to that later extension.