Modifier Letter Small Lezh

It marks a brief or secondary [ɮ]-like sound.

ɮ is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) letter for a voiced lateral fricative: a voiced l-like sound made with turbulent air along the side of the tongue. Raised 𐞞 modifies a nearby sound instead of standing for the full letter by itself. In [d𐞞], it can mark that friction as a d-like stop is released; a transcription key may assign it a weaker or fleeting reading.

Some Americanist phonetic notation, another system for writing speech sounds, also used raised consonants for weak, echoed, or glide-like sounds. The transcription key tells you which convention applies.

𐞞 vs ɮ: when should I use each?

𐞞 modifies a sound; ɮ is the full-size IPA letter.

Place 𐞞 after the consonant it modifies; [d𐞞] is a documented example. Do not replace one with the other just because the raised form is smaller: one is a modifier, the other the full sound letter.

IPA’s 1938 decision approved a heng-like replacement for lezh; the 1949 Principles, a guide to the notation, used a compromise form, and the 1989 Kiel-era chart showed ɮ again. Publications from the 1960s–1980s can therefore show more than one lezh shape. The formal record of the return is unclear.

Why does 𐞞 look missing or normalize to ɮ?

A font may omit it; compatibility normalization can map it to ɮ.

A font without a glyph for 𐞞 may show an empty box or fallback character. Compatibility normalization maps it to full-size ɮ, removing the raised distinction. Retain the original character in data when that distinction matters.