0x02D8

0x02D8 refers to the Unicode code point U+02D8, which is named BREVE. The character is a diacritic mark represented by the glyph ˘, commonly called a breve. It is classified as a spacing modifier letter in the Unicode standard and is used in phonetic transcription and certain orthographies to modify the sound value of a base character or to indicate a short vowel length in some linguistic traditions.

In practice, the breve diacritic is most often seen in phonetic contexts within the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and in linguistic transcriptions. While many Latin-based orthographies place a breve above a base letter by using a combining diacritic (for example, COMBINING BREVE U+0306 to form ă), the standalone BREVE U+02D8 exists as an individual character in Unicode and can appear as a separate glyph in certain fonts or fonts designed for phonetic notation. Because of this, rendering can vary by font and rendering engine, and some environments may prefer the combining approach for attaching a breve to a base letter.

As a code point, U+02D8 sits within the Unicode blocks associated with spacing modifier letters and phonetic notation. It does not function as punctuation and is not part of the standard ASCII range. In digital text, its use is largely specialized to linguistic work, font support, and typographic conventions for representing phonetic or orthographic modifications.

See also: COMBINING BREVE (U+0306), IPA extensions, Spacing Modifier Letters.