Vai syllable ro

It marks one syllable in a Vai word. Each character in the Vai syllabary represents a spoken syllable.

Where did Vai writing come from?

Vai writing developed in Liberia in the early 1830s, chiefly by Mọmọlu Duwalu Bukẹlẹ of Jondu; the earliest surviving example is a 1834 manuscript. Bukẹlẹ said a dream inspired it. Possible influences include Latin, Arabic, perhaps Cherokee writing, or older picture signs adapted to represent speech.

Vai text served letters and merchant records; it also appears in newspapers, tombstones and rituals. Its syllabic model inspired later syllabaries for Mende, Loma and Kpelle, and may have influenced Bassa Vah, an alphabet. Each script has its own characters.