Vai Syllable Wo

It writes one spoken syllable in Vai.

Within a Vai word, ꖿ contributes one spoken syllable; alone, it gives only part of a word, not a complete translation. If someone sends it outside Vai writing, context is needed to know what they intend.

The Vai syllabary—a writing system whose signs represent syllables—was developed for the Vai language, spoken in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and took shape in Liberia around 1833. Momolu Duwalu Bukele is its best-known promoter, but early accounts point to several Vai contributors rather than a clear one-person invention. The written record begins in the 1830s; a surviving manuscript called the Book of Ndole or Rora is dated about 1845, and an early Vai inscription on Austin Curtis's house was recorded in 1849.

How do I type ꖿ?

Use a Vai keyboard for repeated entry.

On the SIL Vai keyboard layout, press w, then x to enter ꖿ. This layout maps Latin-letter key sequences to Vai syllabary characters.

The script supported correspondence, records, books, schooling and trade among Vai communities in Liberia and Sierra Leone. In the first half of the 20th century, its syllabic pattern influenced scripts for the Mende, Loma and Kpelle languages. A possible link to the Cherokee syllabary—a separate system for writing Cherokee—has been proposed, but direct influence remains uncertain; this is a connection between writing systems, not evidence that their individual signs match.