Marchen Subjoined Letter A

Write the base consonant first, then 𑲯.

As a subjoined letter, 𑲯 sits beneath a Marchen consonant to form a vertical stack. It is a nonspacing mark, so it has no independent syllable; read it with the surrounding Marchen letters.

The mark’s role is orthographic: its reading depends on the stack around it.

Where does Marchen come from?

Tradition links it to Zhang-zhung, but the early record is sparse.

One overview dates Marchen’s development from Tibetan to about the 7th century. A 2013 encoding proposal instead argued that it was probably a later innovation: it said no early Marchen texts were known and named a Zhang-zhung inscription on a bronze seal at Menri Monastery among the earliest known examples.

Marchen wrote Zhang-zhung, a historical language, and is also used for Tibetan in Bön, a Tibetan religious tradition. Related Bön scripts include Marchung, Pungchen, Pungchung, and Drusha; Marchen’s vertical stacks follow the Tibetan model.