U+0D14 "ഔ" Malayalam Letter Au Unicode Character

U+0D14 "ഔ" Malayalam Letter Au is a vowel character in the Malayalam script, representing the diphthong sound /au/. It is part of the Malayalam block in Unicode and is used in the writing system of the Malayalam language, primarily spoken in the Indian state of Kerala. As an independent vowel symbol, it appears at the beginning of syllables, and its corresponding diacritic mark, known as the vowel sign au, is used to modify consonant characters to indicate the same sound within a syllable. This character is essential for accurately spelling native Malayalam words and loanwords that require the au sound, distinguishing it from the similar but distinct vowel o.