accent mark
- noun
- /ˈæksɛnt mɑrk/
:
tilde
- When learning French, be sure to add the accent mark to words like 'élève' to pronounce it correctly.
Examples
-
The latter was considered because French uses a number of accent marks that are not used in English, and the typeface that is used may make these marks more distinct or less distinct. Canada, the country in which this research was conducted, is officially a bilingual country.
Academic text (2007) -
The issue of accent marks is discussed separately.
Academic text (2006) -
Senora Claro brushed her hair from her wrinkled face and showed him where to put the accent mark when he wrote out her first check.
Fiction book (1995) -
In The Bank Dick, Fields plays the aptly named Egbert Sous (he keeps stressing the importance of the accent mark to everyone he meets).
Academic text (2002) -
In Spanish, the accent mark shows which syllable to stress in a word.
-
Without the accent mark, the word 'resume' can be confused with 'resume'.
Synonyms
5
4.8
A mark above a vowel showing how to pronounce it
1
5.8
A small sign above a syllable that shows which part to say more strongly
A small sign written on a letter to show how to say it or to change its meaning
How Marked
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'accent' (a diacritic indicating stress or pronunciation) and 'mark' (a symbol), so a learner who knows both constituents will understand it refers to a diacritic placed on a letter. This is a cross-linguistically common concept (acute, grave, tilde, etc.) and follows a straightforward compositional pattern, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Accent mark comes from the simple image of a small mark placed above or below a letter to show its accent. It shows which syllable should be strong or how to say the vowel, so it tells the word's 'stress' or 'pronunciation'.