Modifier Letter Small Iota

It marks a vowel element in some phonetic notations. ᶥ is a separate character that sits high; it is not just small-print styling or an accent attached to the previous letter. Depending on the notation key, it can mark a vowel influenced by ɩ, a weak or fleeting vowel, an inserted vowel, a brief echo of a nearby vowel, or one element of a diphthong (two vowel sounds in one syllable).

There is no universal reading: follow the notation key. Fonts can draw the raised character at different sizes or lack its glyph, leaving a blank box; that changes visibility, not the intended value. If the key is missing, do not infer the sound from the shape alone.

Why does ᶥ have several different readings?

Its role follows a notation tradition, not its shape alone. An Americanist phonetic notation example from 1996 uses ᶥ as a vowel modifier. A Unicode proposal reproduced the sample in 2003, carrying an existing transcription practice into encoded text. Raised modifiers let writers mark brief or secondary vowel material compactly.

The ɩ family is used differently across traditions. After its 1989 revision, the International Phonetic Association preferred ɪ. Americanist notation and the Comox, Kabiye, and Moore alphabets use ɩ as a letter.