Yi syllable chop

Enter Yi Pinyin chop and select ꍬ. The letters alone will not select a Yi character on a standard English or Chinese keyboard; use a Yi input method and choose its candidate.

What does ꍬ mean?

It writes one Liangshan Yi syllable. The English-looking chop is a Yi Pinyin romanization, roughly like “chaw” with a low pitch that falls. Its final p marks that tone; it is not an English spelling rule. ꍬ alone records the syllable, not an English idea such as “chop”; the surrounding Yi word or sentence supplies its meaning. It belongs to standardized Liangshan Yi, not every variety of Yi.

Where did this Yi syllable come from?

It belongs to a standardized form that grew from older regional Yi writing. Some proposed Yi inscriptions are assigned to the Western Han period, but the earliest securely dated monument in published accounts is a bronze bell inscribed in Yi and Chinese from 1485. The earliest Yi manuscript evidence is generally placed around 1500, though many surviving manuscripts are undated. The standardized Liangshan form was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980.

Older regional Yi forms appear in bimo manuscripts—religious, magical, medical, scriptural, legendary, historical, and astrological texts associated with Yi ritual specialists. Historical accounts also use names such as Cuan script and bimo script for Yi writing traditions. The traditions are related, but were not wholly mutually intelligible. Standardized Liangshan Yi was created to support literacy and appears in textbooks, literature, and newspapers.