Latin alpha
Ɑ ɑ
Usage
Writing system	Latin script
Type	alphabetic
Language of origin	International Phonetic Alphabet,General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages
Sound values	[ɑ]
In Unicode	U+2C6D, U+0251
History
Development	Α α Ɑ ɑ
Time period	1890s to present
Sisters	A,Ɒ
Other
Writing direction	Left-to-Right
This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Latin alpha (majuscule:Ɑ,minuscule:ɑ),script a, orsingle-story a is a letter of theLatin alphabet based on a handwritten form of lowercasea, and which is commonly typeset with theGreek lowercasealpha (α).

Although|ɑ| is normally just anallograph of⟨a⟩, there are instances in which the two letters are distinguished:

• In theInternational Phonetic Alphabet, ⟨ɑ⟩ represents anopen back unrounded vowel, while ⟨a⟩ represents anopen front unrounded vowel. It has the shape of a script-a.
• Also in theGeneral Alphabet of Cameroon Languages,⟨Ɑ ɑ⟩ usually represents anopen back unrounded vowel, while⟨A a⟩ represents anopen front unrounded vowel. The former is used in the orthographies of several languages of Cameroon, including:
  • Feʼfeʼ^[1][2]
  • Mbembe^[3]
  • Mbo (?): but not Akoose, though it does have phonemes /aa/ and /ɑɑ/;^[4] nor Bakaka.^[5]
  • in some languages, the script-a form (also called literacy form) of the letter⟨A a⟩, with the lowercase much like the IPA⟨ɑ⟩, is used and should not be confused with the Latin alpha⟨Ɑ ɑ⟩ of the GACL; for example, inMuyang, the literacy⟨A a⟩ represents anopen-mid central unrounded vowel but it is not⟨Ɑ ɑ⟩; the Latin alpha is not used.^[6]
• In typography, it is sometimes referred to as thesingle-story a, to distinguish it from double-story a.

In Cameroon languages, lowercase⟨ɑ⟩ is typeset as a lowercase Greek alpha to better differentiate it from the letter a in script or italic form. the capital is typically typeset as a large Latin script a.

U+1D45 ᵅMODIFIER LETTER SMALL ALPHA is used in theUralic Phonetic Alphabet.^[7]

U+AB30 ꬰLATIN SMALL LETTER BARRED ALPHA is used in theTeuthonista phonetic transcription system.^[8]

Latin turned alpha is used in IPA

U+AB64 ꭤLATIN SMALL LETTER INVERTED ALPHA is used inAmericanist phonetic notation.^[9]

InUnicode, "Latin alpha" () and "Latin script a" () are considered to be the same character, which has an uppercase and a lowercase form and is referred to as "Latin letter alpha".

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