Yi Syllable Le

In Nuosu, ꇌ means “ox,” “cow,” or “bull.” Its reading is lɯ³³: roughly an “oo” vowel without rounded lips, held at a steady mid pitch. The standard romanization is le; it shows the sound, not the meaning.

Traditional Yi writing used local word-signs. “Cuan” and “Wei” are historical labels; one origin tradition credits Aki, but beginnings remain debated. Village priests copied religious, magical, and medical texts, family histories, and literature. A surviving bronze-bell inscription is dated to 1485.

The Liangshan standard recast older signs as syllables. It was devised in 1974 and promulgated in 1980 for Nuosu. Other Yi traditions differ in signs and readings.