Façade, jalapeño, doppelgänger—you’ve probably seen these kinds of words with little symbols above, below, or through them. These symbols, called diacritical marks, dictate how a letter and, consequently, a word is used or read.
What is a Diacritical Mark?
A diacritical or accent mark is any mark, stroke, sign, squiggle, or point added to a letter. They indicate if a letter or syllable is stressed, a vowel is shortened or lengthened, or to distinguish similarly spelled words.
Diacritical marks aren’t often used in English. It’s the only modern European language that doesn’t normally use them. Most of the diacritical marks you’ll encounter in English are loanwords. It’s also why many English users aren’t aware of how to interpret these marks or drop them altogether.
Some languages that commonly use diacritical marks are Welsh, German, Irish, Italian, Spanish, French, Filipino, Arabic, and Hebrew.
Types of Diacritical Marks
Dozens of diacritical marks exist, each with a different purpose. Here are the more common ones you’ll find in English and other languages.
Acute accent
The acute accent ( ́ ) indicates a raised pitch or stressed syllable. You usually find this mark over the letter e in French loanwords. In this case, the é is pronounced ay.
In Spanish, it’s used over a vowel to mean that the syllable the vowel is grouped in is stressed.
Examples:
- café (kah-FAY)
- cliché (klee-SHAY)
- adiós (ah-dee-OHS)
Grave accent
The grave accent (ˋ) indicates an unaccented syllable or lower inflection. It is also mostly found in French loanwords. When placed in the letter e, it is pronounced eh.
Writers also use it on other vowels to distinguish between hom*ographs. If found in poetry, it means a normally silent vowel should be pronounced.
Examples:
- crème de la crème (krem duh lah krem)
- learnèd (LUR-ned)
- vis-à-vis (veez-ah-VEE)
Cedilla
The cedilla ( ̧ ) is a mark placed under the letter c. In French, Portuguese, and Catalan, it tells you that the c is pronounced s instead of k. English users sometimes drop this mark but retain the pronunciation of the word.
Examples:
- façade (fuh-SAHD)
- garçon (gar-SOHN)
- açai (ah-sah-EE)
Circumflex
The circumflex (ˆ) indicates length, contraction, or a specific pronunciation of vowels in different languages.
- raison d’être (ray-ZAWN DET-ruh)
- coup de grâce (koo duh GRAHS)
- crème brûlée (krem broo-LAY)
Diaeresis
The diaeresis (¨) is placed over a vowel to indicate it should be pronounced separately.
- naïve (nah-EEV)
- Brontë (BRAHN-tuh)
- Zoë (ZOH-ee)
This mark is called an umlaut in German and functions differently. When placed over a vowel, it means that the vowel has a more central or frontal pronunciation. For example, the letter a is pronounced ah in German. An umlaut is added to turn it into a short or elongated eh.
Breve
The breve (˘) is mostly used in linguistics to indicate a short or unstressed vowel.
- kŭt for cut
- drŏll for droll
Macron
In contrast to the breve, the macron (−) indicates that a vowel is long or stressed.
- kāk for cake
- lēd or lead
- pādā for payday
Tilde
The tilde (˜) indicates a blend of the n and y sounds. In Spanish, you typically find it used over the letter n.
- señor
- piñata
- mañana
In Portuguese loanwords, the tilde indicates a nasal sound. You usually see it above the letters a and o.
- São Paulo
- mão (hand)
A more common use in English, however, is to signify approximation. For example, “~45 minutes” means approximately 45 minutes instead of exactly.
Diacritics in English
Diacritical marks appear in English for a few reasons:
When using loanwords.
English loves to borrow words from other languages and a lot of them come with diacritical marks. When these words are still considered foreign in English, it’s recommended to keep their diacritical marks. Some writers go a step further by italicizing these words to indicate their foreign origin.
Loanwords that have become part of the English language, however, drop their accent marks. This is why you write words like “naive,” “facade,” and “cafe” instead of “naïve,” “façade,” and “café.”
When using foreign words that are proper nouns.
Foreign proper nouns are under their own language’s rules. Diacritical marks are key to using and understanding them, especially if you’re communicating with someone where that noun originates.
A few proper names commonly heard in English are:
- Québec: keh-BEK
- Reykjavík: RAY-kyah-vik
- Zürich: ZOOR-ikh
- Curaçao: kyoo-ruh-SOW
- Beyoncé Knowles – bee-AHN-say NOHLS
- Joaquín Phoenix – wah-KEEN FEE-niks
To show vowels or syllables are pronounced separately.
In the past, the diaeresis mark was also used to tell that two same and adjacent vowels should be sounded apart. This has either been replaced by a hyphen (usually in British English) or dropped altogether.
- reëstablish (ree-ih-STAB-lish)(BrE: re-establish)
- coöperate (koh-AHP-uh-rayt)(BrE: co-operate)
Other diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave accents, are also used to signify that a vowel should be pronounced as a separate syllable. This also helps in distinguishing the meaning of similarly spelled words.
- agèd (ay-JED; being of advanced years) and aged (AY-jd; past tense of age meaning to grow old)
- resumé (REZ-uh-may; a summary of one’s work experiences) and resume (ri-ZOOM; to begin again)
Using Diacritical Marks
Diacritical marks are integral to many languages. Though it’s not a concern in English, borrowed words need them for proper pronunciation. These marks can be dropped over time as more people know how to say them correctly.
If a foreign word has only been recently borrowed or is a proper noun, retain its diacritics whenever possible. Established words are more about preference rather than any established rule. If you’re in doubt, consult a dictionary and be consistent in whatever you choose.
What do you think about diacritical marks? Share your thoughts below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- Contronyms: Words with Contrasting Meanings
- Cognates: Words With Common Linguistic Ancestors
- 15 Words English Borrowed from Other Languages
Cole Salao
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
