• In a number of languages, an underdot indicates a
raised or
relatively high vowel, often the counterpart of a lower vowel marked with an
ogonek or left unmarked. • In
Rotuman,
ạ represents /ɔ/. • In
Romagnol,
ẹ ọ are used to represent [e, o], e.g. part of Riminese dialect
fradẹll, ọcc "brothers, eyes". • In academic notation of
Old Latin,
ẹ̄ (
e with underdot and macron) represents the long vowel, probably , that developed from the early Old Latin diphthong
ei. This vowel usually became
ī in
Classical Latin. • In academic transcription of
Vulgar Latin, used in describing the development of the
Romance languages, ẹ and ọ represent the close-mid vowels and , in contrast with the open-mid vowels and , which are represented as
e and
o with
ogonek (ę ǫ). • Academic transcription of
Middle English uses the same conventions as Vulgar Latin above. • In academic transcription of
Serbo-Croatian dialects,
ẹ ọ ạ (typically ) represent higher vowels than standard
e o a, and the first two often contrast with lower vowels marked with a
comma below,
e̦ o̦ (typically ). • In
Inari Sami, an underdot denotes a half-long voiced consonant:
đ̣, j̣, ḷ, ṃ, ṇ, ṇj, ŋ̣, ṛ, and
ṿ. The underdot is used in dictionaries, textbooks, and linguistic publications only. • In
IAST and
National Library at Calcutta romanization, transcribing
languages of India, a dot below a letter distinguishes the
retroflex consonants
ṭ, ḍ, ṛ, ḷ, ṇ, ṣ, while
m with underdot (
ṃ) signifies an
anusvara and
h with underdot (
ḥ) signifies a
visarga. Very frequently (in modern transliterations of Sanskrit) an underdot is used instead of the
ring (diacritic) below the vocalic
r and
l. • In romanizations of some
Afroasiatic languages, particularly
Semitic Languages and
Berber Languages, an underdot indicates an
emphatic consonant. The romanization of Arabic uses . • In the
DIN 31636 and
ALA-LC Romanization of Hebrew,
ṿ represents vav (
ו), while
v without the underdot represents beth (
ב).
ḳ represents qoph (
ק) while
k represents kaph (
כ). ḥ represents chet (
ח). • The underdot is also used in the PDA orthography for Domari to show pharyngealization—the underdotted consonants represent the emphaticized sounds . • In
Asturian,
ḷḷ (underdotted double
ll) represents the
voiced retroflex plosive or the
voiceless retroflex affricate, depending on dialect, and
ḥ (underdotted
h) the
voiceless glottal fricative. • In the
O'odham language,
Ḍ (
d with underdot) represents a
voiced retroflex stop. • In
Vietnamese, The
nặng tone (low, glottal) is represented with a dot below the base vowel:
ạ ặ ậ ẹ ệ ị ọ ộ ợ ụ ự ỵ. • In
Igbo, an underdot can be used on
i,
o, and
u to make
ị,
ọ, and
ụ. The underdot symbolizes a reduction in the
vowel height. • In
Yoruba, an underdot can be used on
e and
o to make
ẹ and
ọ, symbolizing a reduction in the
vowel height, as well as on
s to make
ṣ, symbolizing a
postalveolar articulation. • In
Americanist phonetic notation,
x with underdot
x̣ represents a
voiceless uvular fricative. • Underdots are used in the
Rheinische Dokumenta phonetic writing system to denote a voiced
s and special pronunciations of
r and
a. • In the Fiero-Rhodes orthography for
Eastern Ojibwe and
Odaawaa, in
g̣,
ḥ, and
ḳ, underdot is used to indicate
labialization when either or following them was lost in
syncope. • The
Sicilian nexus
ḍḍ is used to represent . • In
Kalabari,
ḅ and
ḍ are used. • In
Marshallese, underdots on consonants represent velarization, such as the velarized lateral
ḷ. • UNGEGN romanization of
Urdu includes
ḍ, g̣, ḳ, ṭ, ẉ, and
ỵ. • In
Mizo,
ṭ represents . • The underdot is also used in the
Devanagari script, where it is called
nukta. ==Raised dot and middle dot ==