Old Permic Letter Yat

It marks a close e vowel, distinct from Old Permic open e.

A close e is pronounced with the tongue higher than an open e. In modern Komi, the contrast has mostly merged; in the Komi-Yazva variety, the close vowel became i. In Russian texts written in Old Permic as a code, 𐍱 stood for Cyrillic ѣ.

Why is Old Permic yat called yat?

“Yat” is borrowed by analogy from the Cyrillic letter ѣ. Lytkin proposed йэ as the original name; other lists give е, ѥ, or ей, and some omit the letter.

Stefan of Perm is conventionally credited with devising the script in the fourteenth century for Komi and Komi-Permyak readers. It served Christian reading: religious works translated from Russian and Greek. Surviving traces include glosses (short manuscript notes) and an inscription on the Troitsa icon, a painted religious image, from the fourteenth century.

The writing tradition continued into the seventeenth century. From the fifteenth century, Russian scribes also used the script to encode Russian texts for readers who could not read it. Its letter order follows Greek and Cyrillic models, while many shapes come from Komi tamga signs—traditional marks tied to indigenous religious practice.

How do you type Old Permic yat?

An Old Permic keyboard can enter it; font support controls display.

The character and its drawing are separate: a blank box means the selected font lacks Old Permic coverage. In 2019, a reconstruction report said its author had no typeface able to show Old Permic. As of 2026, a research paper lists several supporting fonts.