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Unicode Standard, 9.1:
Holam Male and Holam Haser. The vowel point holam represents the vowel phoneme /o/.
The consonant letter vav represents the consonant phoneme /w/, but in some words is used
to represent a vowel, /o/. When the point holam is used on vav, the combination usually
represents the vowel /o/, but in a very small number of cases represents the consonantvowel
combination /wo/. A typographic distinction is made between these two in many
versions of Biblical text. In most cases, in which vav + holam together represents the vowel
/o/, the point holam is centered above the vav and referred to as holam male. In the less frequent
cases, in which the vav represents the consonant /w/, some versions show the point
holam positioned above left. This is referred to as holam haser. The character U+05BA
hebrew point holam haser for vav is intended for use as holam haser only in those
cases where a distinction is needed. When the distinction is made, the character U+05B9
hebrew point holam is used to represent the point holam male on vav. U+05BA hebrew
point holam haser for vav is intended for use only on vav; results of combining this
character with other base characters are not defined. Not all users distinguish between the
two forms of holam, and not all implementations can be assumed to support U+05BA
hebrew point holam haser for vav.
Response to “Proposal to add HEBREW POINT HOLAM HASER FOR VAV to the BMP of the UCS” (L2/04-310)