Vai syllable ye

ꘂ marks the Vai syllable “ye,” roughly like the start of “yes.”

Vai is a West African language. Its syllabary—a writing system where each sign represents a syllable—uses one sign per spoken syllable, so ꘂ contributes one part of a word. The script emerged in Liberia in the early 1830s. Mọmọlu Duwalu Bukẹlẹ is usually named its principal inventor, though accounts credit co-inventors and disagree on earlier dates. Outsiders reported it by 1834, and a Baptist print record from 1840 is the earliest identified in a historical study.

The script was devised for writing Vai: early accounts describe communication, while later uses included correspondence and record-keeping, especially among merchants and traders. By 2026, Unicode describes Vai literacy as coexisting with English and Arabic and often learned informally; most literate Vai readers know only a subset of standardized signs. Mende, Loma and Kpelle syllabaries later drew on Vai's syllabic organization. A Cherokee influence remains possible, not settled.

How do I type ꘂ?

Use the Vai transliteration layout: type y, then e.

MediaWiki's 2023 Vai transliteration guide maps y followed by e to ꘂ on its desktop/laptop layout and points mobile users to Gboard. The mapping is specific to that input method, not a universal keyboard rule.

Why does ꘂ show as a box?

A box usually means the active font lacks a Vai glyph.

A 2023 Vai input guide describes a square or question mark as missing font support. The encoded character remains ꘂ; fonts may draw it differently without changing its identity. Use a font that includes Vai to see its shape.