U+02E4 "ˤ" Modifier Letter Small Reversed Glottal Stop Unicode Character

U+02E4 "ˤ" Modifier Letter Small Reversed Glottal Stop is a typographic symbol used in the International Phonetic Alphabet to represent pharyngealization, which is a secondary articulation where the root of the tongue is retracted toward the pharynx. It is typically written as a superscript small reversed glottal stop and combines with a preceding consonant or vowel character to indicate that the sound is produced with a constricted pharynx. This modifier is especially common in the transcription of Semitic languages like Arabic and Hebrew, as well as certain Caucasian and Native American languages, where pharyngealized consonants are phonemically distinct. Its design is derived from the glottal stop symbol but reversed to visually suggest the retraction of the tongue.