Modifier Letter Small U With Left Hook

It marks a weak vowel in some phonetic transcriptions. ꭟ is a small modifier form of ꭒ; in dialect notation derived from Rousselot–Gilliéron, it marks a weak or incompletely pronounced version. The exact sound depends on the system's key.

This family developed through phonetic alphabets in the 19th century. Work by Schmeller, Brenner, Bremer, Lenz and Ascoli fed related Germanic and Romance systems; the Teuthonista journal began publishing in 1924. These systems let linguists record regional speech and fine vowel differences in maps and records of dialects.

What does ꭟ mean when someone sends it?

It points to transcription; the key tells you which sound. A lone ꭟ does not identify one exact vowel. Before assigning a sound, ask which transcription system is being used.

Different traditions assign ꭒ different values. Webster's 1828 dictionary used it for the English long-u reading; Noory's 1981 pronunciation dictionary used it for the vowel represented by [ʌ] in the International Phonetic Alphabet, a short unrounded vowel made with the tongue near the center of the mouth.

Preserve ꭟ when exact transcription matters

ꭟ is a spacing letter drawn by the font. If it appears as an empty box or a different shape, the font may lack the glyph; that display issue does not change the stored character.

NFKC compatibility normalization maps ꭟ to ꭒ, removing the modifier distinction. Keep the original string, or use NFC, when exact comparison matters; avoid compatibility normalization on a transcription you need to preserve.