diacritical mark
- noun
- /ˌdaɪəˈkrɪtɪkəl mɑrk/
- Specialized
:
signo diacrítico
- Learning how to read diacritical marks can help students understand the subtle differences in meaning.
Examples
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It is also rare to find diacritical marks on the words.
Academic text (2008) -
The differentiating diacritical marks established by each group then confirm the nature of the group's social interaction.
Academic text (2008) -
I have chosen to omit diacritical marks for Sanskrit terms in order to make this essay more legible to nonspecialist readers
Academic text (2008) -
Many languages use diacritical marks to indicate different pronunciations of the same letter.
-
In French, the letter "e" can have several diacritical marks, such as the accent aigu and the accent grave.
Synonyms
5
4.8
A mark above a vowel showing how to pronounce it
A small mark that changes the sound of a letter
A mark placed above or below a letter to show which syllable is strong and how to say it
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a straightforward adjective + noun: 'diacritical' (indicating distinctions) + 'mark' (a symbol), so the meaning ‘a symbol that indicates pronunciation/stress/meaning differences’ follows directly from the constituents. This compositional pattern is common across languages and standard in English, so a B1 learner who knows both words could readily infer the MWE’s meaning.
Etymology
The term diacritical mark comes from the simple idea of adding a small diacritical mark to a letter to show a different 'sound' or stress. So, like the two dots in naïve, a diacritical mark tells you the correct 'pronunciation' or meaning of the letter.