Vai Syllable Kpoo

It represents one syllable in the Vai script.

Vai is a syllabary: each sign represents a syllable, and several signs form words. Unicode spells this syllable’s name with the Latin letters “kpoo.” In an English-language chat, the sign alone does not translate into an English word; ask what the sender meant.

Vai took shape in Liberia in the early 1830s, with Mọmọlu Duwalu Bukẹlẹ identified as its main developer. It served practical correspondence and record-keeping, including among merchants and traders. The earliest known sample dates to 1834. The Book of Ndole, an early Vai manuscript, survives from around 1845 or earlier. Vai underwent standardization efforts in 1899 and 1962, and some earlier forms later fell out of use. Proposed links to Latin, Arabic, Cherokee, or an older picture-based script remain theories; better documented is Vai’s influence on later writing systems developed in West Africa.

How do I type ꕺ?

On the Keyman SIL Vai keyboard, type kp, then o.

The Keyman SIL Vai keyboard’s assignment table maps kp followed by o to ꕺ. This works on that layout, not as a universal shortcut.

Why does ꕺ show as a box?

It needs a Unicode font with Vai coverage.

A legacy eight-bit SIL Vai font uses a different encoding and cannot draw Unicode text. If ꕺ appears as a box, choose a font that supports Unicode Vai before troubleshooting input.