tildeare

Tildeare is a term used in speculative linguistics and conlang communities to describe a proposed diacritic mark used in the romanization of the fictional language Tildeare. The diacritic is conceived as a combination of a tilde and a diacritic arc positioned over a vowel, intended to indicate a distinct phonation that blends nasalization with length. The name blends 'tilde,' a known diacritic for nasalization in many scripts, with 'are,' drawing from the language name and its orthographic tradition.

In phonology, tildeare marks denote a long nasal vowel, typically realized as a tense, nasalized vowel with increased duration. In some proposals, the tildeare also signals a phonemic tone or contrastive breathiness, but most conservative descriptions keep it strictly nasalization plus length.

Orthographically, tildeare is described as a diacritic placed over the vowel, sometimes rendered as an overlaid tilde that sits slightly above the letter's body. Fonts and typesetting vary; some render as a compact mark centered above the vowel, others as a small tilde following the letter.

Use: Tildeare appears primarily in constructed-language guides, fan puzzles, and language-creation forums. It has limited use in practical typography, where it is seen as a hypothetical or aesthetic feature rather than a widely adopted standard.

See also: diacritic, nasalization, nasal vowel, conlang orthography.