Accents and diacritical marks
Non-standard characters signs that change the sound of letters and words
Many western languages contain words with letters whose sound is determined by these accents and diacritical marks. The effects are different depending on the language; here are the names and examples of the more common marks and non-standard characters. Usage of these accents and marks is not restricted to the letters shown in the examples.
- é - accent acute
- è - accent grave
- ê - circumflex
- ë - umlaut or diaerisis
- ç - cedilla
- ñ - tilde
- ø - streg
- ð - eth (capital form Ð)
- å - bolle
- æ - ligature
- œ - ligature
- ē - macron
- č - háček
- ŭ - crescent
Thanks, A Franks for macron code, háček, and crescent. Here also is a wonderful free resource for foreign language letters, diacritical marks and accents, for Word, Wordperfect, and HTML applications, with at-a-glance foreign character codes here, and HTML special character codes here, all provided by Irene Starr.
See also
- fascinating grammar and language glossary - and wordplay curiosities
- acronyms - amusing, memorable clever - for teaching, training, public speaking, etc
- amusing and fascinating origins of words, expressions and cliches
- money slang and money history (UK)
- word-play puzzles and games for quizzes and exercises
- Greek alphabet - surprisingly relevant to all sorts of things
- cockney rhyming slang - amusing, and fascinating