What means
It marks a retroflex d, made with the tongue tip curled back.
Sunuwar, also called Kiranti-Kõits, is spoken in Nepal and Sikkim; its script was developed specifically to write the language.
Older Sunuwar spelling used the same letter for ordinary d and retroflex d. By the turn of the 21st century, writers added Donga to distinguish them. The script arranges letters alphabetically, like Latin. Another Sunuwar letter, , was added in that expansion and borrowed from Limbu to write long a.
Why can Sunuwar spelling look different in Nepal and Sikkim?
The sound stays the same; the spelling of consonant clusters changes.
When consonants come together without a vowel between them, Nepalese Sunuwar writes their letters side by side. In the Sikkim Herald tradition, each consonant carries a default vowel; this kind of writing system is called an abugida.
A mark below a consonant in Sikkim-style spelling cancels that default vowel in a cluster. A mark under Donga is a separate spelling mark, not part of the letter.
A Sunuwar consonant for a curled-back d sound, used within that writing system.
Do not read it as ordinary d: Donga marks the curled-back consonant.
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Questions people ask
1Why might Donga have a mark below it?
In Sikkim-style Sunuwar, a mark below a consonant cancels its default vowel in a cluster. Nepalese Sunuwar generally writes the cluster letters side by side.
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- donga · sunuwar donga · sunuwar retroflex d · retroflex d · sunuwar keyboard · sunuwar font · sunuwar donga pronunciation
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𑯗\11BD7Codes and encoding1 code points
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