Lycian letter Q

It is a Lycian consonant letter, written q in scholarly transcription. Here q labels a consonant made by briefly closing airflow at the back of the mouth. Its exact contrast with other Lycian stop sounds is unsettled; within a Lycian word, 𐊌 contributes a consonant sound rather than naming something on its own.

Lycian inscriptions date from around 500 BCE to about 200 BCE. The Lycian script appears on stone monuments, coins, and other objects, writing the local language in public and funerary settings.

How did the Lycian alphabet develop?

The Lycian script adapted a Greek-based alphabet to write Lycian. Some extra signs may have been created locally or drawn from other sources.

Lycian is also related to Luwian, another ancient language of Anatolia, the region now mostly in Turkey. This is a relationship between languages; Greek is the model named for the writing system.

On monuments with both Lycian and Greek, Greek could translate a Lycian epitaph, serve as a status-marking heading, or accompany Lycian as the standard funerary text. The layout and context of each monument help show which role the languages play.

What does 𐊌 mean when someone sends it?

Treat a lone 𐊌 as a reference to Lycian writing. In a longer Lycian transcription, it marks the consonant wherever it falls in the word.