Accent mark

Accent Mark

An accent mark is a diacritical mark used in written language to indicate stress or pitch, denote a specific pronunciation, or distinguish between homographs. Accent marks are used in many languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and German.

Types of Accent Marks

There are several types of accent marks, each with its own specific use and meaning.

• Acute Accent: The acute accent (´) is used in various languages, including Spanish, French, and Portuguese, to indicate stress or to distinguish between homographs.

• Grave Accent: The grave accent (`) is used in Italian and French to mark the quality of a vowel, or to distinguish between homographs.

• Circumflex: The circumflex (^) is used in French and Portuguese to indicate stress, vowel length, or to distinguish between homographs.

• Tilde: The tilde (~) is used in Spanish and Portuguese to indicate nasalization.

• Umlaut: The umlaut (¨) is used in German to indicate a change in the sound of a vowel.

Usage in English

In English, accent marks are not commonly used. However, they may appear in loanwords from other languages, or in poetry to indicate stress or meter.

See Also

• Diacritic
• Orthography
• Phonetics
• Phonology