Gha

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Gha
Ƣ ƣ
ğ
Usage
Writing systemLatin script
TypeAlphabetic
Language of originAzerbaijani language
Sound values[ɣ]
[ʁ]
In UnicodeU+01A2, U+01A3
Alphabetical position18 (after Q)
History
Development
Time period~1900 to 1983
SistersQ
Φ φ
Փ փ
Ֆ ֆ
Transliterationsğ, q, g, gh, Ғ
Variationsğ
Other
Writing directionLeft-to-Right

The letter Ƣ (minuscule: ƣ) was used in the Latin orthographies of various, mostly Turkic languages, as part of the early Soviet Jaꞑalif orthographies.[1] It was also later included in the Chinese pinyin-based alphabets for Kazakh and Uyghur until 1983. It usually represents a voiced velar fricative [ɣ] but is sometimes used for a voiced uvular fricative [ʁ]. All orthographies that used the letter have been phased out.

Letters Q and q of Sütterlin script

Historically, it is derived from a handwritten form of the small Latin letter ⟨q⟩ around 1900. The majuscule is then based on the minuscule. Its use for [ɣ] stems from the linguistic tradition of representing such sounds (and similar ones) by q in Turkic languages and in transcriptions of Arabic or Persian (compare kaf and qaf).[2]

In alphabetical order, it comes between G and H.

Modern replacements

LanguageLetter
AbazaГЪ, гъ
AbkhazҔ, ҕ/Ӷ, ӷ
AvarГЪ, гъ
AzerbaijaniĞ, ğ
BashkirҒ, ғ
Crimean TatarĞ, ğ (Latin), ГЪ, гъ (Cyrillic)
Dargin (literary)ГЪ, гъ
DunganР, р
KabardianГЪ, гъ (Cyrillic), Ğ, ğ (Latin)
Karachay-BalkarГЪ, гъ
KaraimГЪ, гъ (Cyrillic), G, g (Latin)
KarakalpakǴ, ǵ (Latin), Ғ, ғ (Cyrillic)
KazakhĞ, ğ (Latin), Ғ, ғ (Cyrillic), ع‬ (Arabic)
KhakasҒ, ғ
KumykГЪ, гъ
Kurdish[3]غ (Arabic), x/ẍ (Latin)
KyrgyzГ, г (Cyrillic), ع‬ (Arabic)
LakГЪ, гъ
Lazღ (Georgian), Ğ, ğ (Latin)
LezgiГЪ, гъ
NogaiГ, г
TajikҒ, ғ
TalyshĞ, ğ (Latin), غ (Persian), Ғ, ғ (Cyrillic)
TatĞ, ğ (Latin), ГЪ, гъ (Cyrillic)
TatarГ, г (Cyrillic), Ğ, ğ (Latin)
TsakhurГЪ, гъ (Cyrillic), Ğ, ğ (Latin)
TurkmenG, g
TuvanГ, г
UdinĞ, ğ (Latin), ГЪ, гъ (Cyrillic)
UrumҐ, ґ; Ғ, ғ
Uyghurغ (Arabic), Ғ, ғ (Cyrillic), Gh, gh (Latin)
UzbekGʻ, gʻ (Latin), Ғ, ғ (Cyrillic)
YakutҔ, ҕ

Unicode

In Unicode, the majuscule Ƣ is encoded in the Latin Extended-B block at U+01A2 and the minuscule ƣ is encoded at U+01A3.[4] The assigned names, "LATIN CAPITAL LETTER OI" and "LATIN SMALL LETTER OI" respectively, are acknowledged by the Unicode Consortium to be mistakes, as gha is unrelated to the letters O and I.[5] The Unicode Consortium therefore has provided the character name aliases "LATIN CAPITAL LETTER GHA" and "LATIN SMALL LETTER GHA".[4]

Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow features an episode purporting to be the story of a Soviet officer, Tchitcherine, dispatched to Kirghizstan to serve on a committee tasked with devising an alphabet for the Kyrgyz language. Tchitcherine's particular contribution is the invention of the letter Ƣ, which is thus perhaps the only obsolete letter of a Central Asian language that may be familiar to the non-specialist, English-reading public through a widely circulated novel.

References