Yi Syllable Gguot

It is a sound-bearing syllable sign, and context supplies the word. Nuosu, also called Northern Yi, is the variety written by the standardized Liangshan syllabary. In romanization, gguot represents the syllable; final t marks high tone and is not a consonant to pronounce. A Yi syllable can stand for different words, so the surrounding word settles the reading.

Traditional Yi writing was never one uniform script: local signs, shapes, and reading directions varied. One widespread origin tradition credits Aki with devising the script during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). The earliest surviving dated inscription identified in Unicode’s history of Yi is on a bronze bell from 1485.

Village bimo (ritual specialists often called priests) chiefly passed traditional manuscripts down for religious ceremonies, magic, medicine, and genealogy. Older Yi signs could stand for words or ideas. The Liangshan standard, devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980, reshaped selected local signs into syllables for Nuosu. It is not one script for every Yi language; Yunnan developed a separate standard.

How do I type ꈞ?

On Windows, add Yi input, type the syllable’s sounds, then choose a candidate. Microsoft’s Windows guide says to add Yi under Settings → Time & language → Language & region. Switch to the Yi input method, enter sounds with English keys, and choose the matching Yi character from the suggestions. The guide was last updated in 2024.

If ꈞ appears as a box, the active font lacks a Yi glyph; a Unicode Yi font can display it. Direction can also identify a historical sample: older Liangshan writing could run right to left, while some Guizhou and Yunnan traditions used vertical columns; standardized Liangshan writing normally runs left to right.