They distinguish words that look identical, like the verb resume (to start again) vs. the noun résumé (a CV).
Indicates stress or a specific vowel sound, as in résumé or café . diacritic
Changes a hard "k" sound to a soft "s," found in façade or garçon . They distinguish words that look identical, like the
They act as a "guide" for the reader, ensuring names like Zoë aren't mispronounced as "Zo". Changes a hard "k" sound to a soft
If you don't have a dedicated keyboard, you can use these shortcuts in or Outlook : Key Shortcut Acute Ctrl + ' , then letter á, é, ó Grave Ctrl + ` , then letter Tilde Ctrl + Shift + ~ , then letter Umlaut Ctrl + Shift + : , then letter Cedilla Ctrl + , , then c 💡 Why They Matter
A —often called an accent mark—is a small glyph added to a letter to change its sound or distinguish it from a similar word. While common in languages like French, Spanish, and German, they also play a subtle but important role in English. 📍 Common Diacritics You See Every Day
Shows that two vowels are pronounced separately rather than as a blend, seen in naïve or Brontë .