Michael, you are mistaken here, Anitra was referring to the composite letter ' A_YAPAHALAA_AA' and not the composite letter sign 'YAPAHALAA_AA' which - yes - has been around for *quite some time*)
Ya-phalaa is a special shape formed originally when YA was combined with a preceding consonant, which acquired a new sound, and which practice was extended to use with independent vowels to allow this new sound to be represented when word-initial.
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Michael Everson * * Everson Typography * * http://www.evertype.com
