Tai Le Letter E

It is a Tai Le vowel letter.

Tai Le writes a syllable in order: initial consonant, vowel, optional final consonant, then tone mark. The E in the character's Unicode name identifies the letter; it is not an English pronunciation guide.

Where did Tai Le come from?

It belongs to the older Lik Tai writing family. Lik Tai scripts were adapted for everyday Tai languages rather than Pali, a classical language used in religious and literary texts. They draw on writing traditions that spread from India; one historical account suggests a Burmese model but leaves the precise origin uncertain. Related traditions include Tai Ahom, Khamti, Phake and Aiton.

A historical survey places Lik Tai development between the 12th and 14th centuries. A dated reference appears in 1396, and the earliest known dated example is a Ming scroll from 1407. These are milestones for the wider family; they do not show that this exact letter appears unchanged in that scroll.

Older Tai Nuea manuscripts from northern Laos use forms different from reformed Dehong writing; the script is also used in Myanmar. New Tai Lue is a separate script despite the similar name. Reforms after 1954 led to a scheme finalized in 1963 and revised in 1988, replacing older combining tone marks with spacing tone letters. Those changes affected tone notation, not this vowel's role.

How do I type a Tai Le word?

Use a Tai Le layout and a supporting font.

A dedicated layout follows Tai Le's spelling order; the carrier ᥟ comes before the vowel when a syllable starts with one. If the letter appears as a square, the font lacks Tai Le coverage.