Garay Sukun

It marks a consonant with no vowel after it.

Assane Faye created Garay in Senegal to write Wolof; its first publications appeared in January 1961. He designed it to be easy for people familiar with Arabic writing to learn, while giving it its own letters. Garay runs right to left. It has also been used for Mandinka in women’s groups and adult literacy work. Faye’s manuscripts included textbooks, folktales and maps, and a Qur’an exists with Wolof translations written between the lines.

A 2012 description shows a mark like Arabic sukun after a final “nd” cluster—two consonants at a word’s end—to make clear that no vowel follows. Modern Garay writes vowels explicitly; Unicode 16.0 (2024) labels 𐵏 obsolete.

Garay sukun vs Arabic sukun: are they the same?

No; it is a Garay sign with a similar job.

“Sukun” names a no-vowel function shared with the Arabic sign. Faye designed Garay to be easy for readers familiar with Arabic writing, but its letters belong to its own alphabet; the similar role does not make 𐵏 an Arabic letter. The Arabic sukun combines with a letter, while 𐵏 stands alone as a Garay spacing sign.

How do I type Garay sukun?

Use a Garay input method or Unicode hex entry.

A 2019 overview reported that standard Garay keyboard and input apps were still in development at that time. If your editor has Unicode hex entry, use its command with U+10D4F; the keystrokes depend on the app.

Garay runs right to left; the sign follows the consonant it qualifies in the written sequence.