Diacritic
Definition and Overview
A diacritic – also known as a diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent – is a glyph added to a letter or basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek word διακριτικός (diakritikós, "distinguishing"), from διακρίνω (diakrī́nō, "to distinguish"). Diacritic is primarily an adjective, though sometimes used as a noun, whereas diacritical is only ever an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute ( ´ ) and grave ( ` ), are often called accents. Diacritical marks may appear above or below a letter, or in some other position such as within the letter or between two letters.
Usage
The main use of diacritical marks in the Latin script is to change the sound-values of the letters to which they are added. Examples from English are the diaeresis in naïve and Noël, which show that the vowel with the diaeresis mark is pronounced separately from the preceding vowel; the acute and grave accents, which can indicate that a final vowel is to be pronounced, as in saké and poetic breathèd; and the cedilla under the "c" in the French loanword façade, which shows it is pronounced /s/ rather than /k/. In other Latin-script alphabets, they may distinguish between homonyms, such as the French là ("there") versus la ("the") that are both pronounced /la/. In Gaelic type, a dot over a consonant indicates lenition of the consonant in question.
Types of Diacritical Marks
There are several types of diacritical marks, including accents (acute, grave, and circumflex), umlauts, and cedillas. Each of these marks has a specific function and is used in various languages to change the pronunciation of a letter, to distinguish between homonyms, or to alter the grammatical function of a word.
Accents
Accents are the most common type of diacritical mark. They are used in many languages, including Spanish, French, and Portuguese, to indicate stress or pitch, to distinguish between homonyms, or to indicate a certain vowel quality.
Umlauts
Umlauts are used in German and other languages that have borrowed from German. They indicate a change in vowel sound. For example, in German, the word "schön" (beautiful) would be pronounced differently without the umlaut.
Cedillas
Cedillas are used in French, Portuguese, and other languages to indicate a change in consonant sound. For example, in French, the cedilla in the word "garçon" (boy) indicates that the "c" should be pronounced as an "s".
Diacritics in Computer Systems
With the advent of computer systems and digital typography, diacritics have posed significant challenges. These challenges relate to design, data entry, and data processing. However, modern computer systems generally incorporate support for a wide range of diacritics used in various languages.