diakríták

Diakritik is a term used in linguistics to refer to symbols or marks added to a letter to change its pronunciation, meaning, or distinguish it from another word. These marks are known as diacritical marks or diacritics. They are commonly found in many alphabetic writing systems, especially those derived from or influenced by Latin and Greek.

The purpose of diacritics can vary. They might indicate a stressed syllable, a different vowel sound, a nasalization, a tone, or even distinguish between homographs, words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and pronunciations. For instance, in French, the cedilla under the letter 'c' in 'français' changes its pronunciation from a hard 'k' sound to a soft 's' sound. In Spanish, the umlaut over the 'u' in 'pingüino' indicates that the 'u' should be pronounced, not silent, as it would be in a 'gue' or 'gui' combination otherwise.

Common examples of diacritical marks include the acute accent (é), grave accent (è), circumflex (â), umlaut or diaeresis (ü), tilde (~), and cedilla (ç). These marks are not merely decorative; they play a crucial role in the correct reading and understanding of words in languages that employ them. Their absence or incorrect usage can lead to mispronunciation and misinterpretation of text.