Vai syllable nji

It represents one syllable, conventionally written nji.

In English, approximate the sound as a nasal n joining the voiced j in “jam,” followed by ee. Nji is a Latin transliteration label, not a word with a fixed meaning by itself.

The sound is not native to Vai. This sign extends the syllabary for personal names and words from other languages, including Loma, Kpelle, and Mende.

How did Vai writing develop?

Vai writing was developed locally in the early 1830s.

Momolu Duwalu Bukele was one of the script’s principal developers. He later said a dream inspired it. The earliest known Vai sample is a manuscript received in 1834. Possible influences include Arabic and Latin writing, Cherokee, or a local pictographic system; a Cherokee link remains debated, not proof that a particular Vai sign was copied from a Cherokee one.

Vai’s syllabic model later influenced the Mende, Loma, and Kpelle syllabaries; the developer of Bassa Vah was familiar with Vai. These are connections between writing systems, not evidence that ꕁ itself descends from a specific glyph. Standardization efforts took place in 1899 and at a 1962 University of Liberia conference. The encoded repertoire draws on the 1962 standard, modern primers, Momolu Massaquoi’s 1911 additions, and the Book of Ndole, the longest surviving early Vai text.

Why does ꕁ show as a square?

Your font may not include Vai characters.

Without a Vai-capable font, a device may show a square or question mark even when the text contains ꕁ. A font that supports Vai should render it; changing the font changes the visible shape, not the encoded character.