diakrítus

diakrítus is a term of Greek origin, meaning "distinguishable" or "discernible." In linguistics, it refers to diacritical marks, which are symbols added to a letter to alter its pronunciation, stress, or meaning. These marks are not letters themselves but are modifications applied to existing letters within an alphabet. Examples of diacritical marks include the acute accent (é), grave accent (è), circumflex (ê), umlaut (ü), and cedilla (ç). These marks are crucial for accurately representing the sounds and nuances of many languages, particularly those that have borrowed or adapted alphabets from others.

The use of diacritics helps to differentiate between words that would otherwise be spelled identically but have different meanings or pronunciations. For instance, in French, the accent aigu on 'é' changes the sound from that of a simple 'e'. Similarly, in German, the umlaut over 'ä', 'ö', and 'ü' indicates a distinct vowel sound. Many languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese, employ a variety of diacritical marks to indicate tone, vowel quality, or consonant modifications. The presence or absence of a diacritic can therefore fundamentally change the identity and meaning of a word, making them an essential element of written language in many contexts.