Diakritikë

Diakritikë refers to diacritical marks, which are small signs or symbols added to letters in an alphabet to indicate a different pronunciation or to distinguish them from similar-looking letters. These marks are used in many languages around the world to convey specific phonetic information that is not represented by the base letter alone.

Common diacritical marks include the acute accent (é), the grave accent (è), the circumflex accent (â), the umlaut or diaeresis (ä), and the tilde (~). Each of these marks modifies the sound of the letter it is placed upon. For example, in French, the acute accent over an 'e' (é) changes its pronunciation from a neutral sound to a distinct 'ay' sound. In German, the umlaut over 'a', 'o', or 'u' (ä, ö, ü) creates a new vowel sound.

The use of diacritics is essential for correct spelling and pronunciation in languages that employ them. They can differentiate between words that would otherwise be spelled identically but have different meanings, such as the Spanish 'a' versus 'á'. In some cases, diacritics are also used to indicate stress or tone, particularly in languages like Vietnamese. The adoption and specific usage of diacritics vary significantly between different languages and writing systems.