How Do You Spell DIACRITIC?

Pronunciation: [dˌa͡ɪəkɹˈɪtɪk] (IPA)

The word "diacritic" refers to a mark or symbol that is added to a letter or character to change its pronunciation or meaning. The IPA phonetic transcription for "diacritic" is /daɪəˈkrɪtɪk/, which consists of six phonemes. The first two phonemes, /daɪ/, represent the diphthong sound of "ai." The following phoneme, /ə/, represents the schwa sound in the unstressed syllable. The fourth and fifth phonemes, /krɪt/, represent the consonant cluster of "k" and "r" followed by the vowel sound of "i." The final phoneme, /k/, represents the consonant sound of "k."

DIACRITIC Meaning and Definition

1. A diacritic is a mark or a symbol added to a letter or a character to modify its pronunciation, sound, or meaning in a written language. Also known as a diacritical mark or accent, it is used to indicate specific phonetic qualities or to distinguish between different sounds or meanings that may otherwise be represented by the same basic grapheme.

   Diacritics are prevalent in many languages and writing systems worldwide. They can appear above, below, or adjacent to the letter they modify. These marks can indicate changes in pitch, stress, intonation, or vowel quality, making the pronunciation more accurate or distinguishing the word from others with the same letters.

   Examples of diacritics include accents, such as acute (´), grave (`), or circumflex (ˆ), used in languages like French, Spanish, or Portuguese to alter vowel pronunciation. Tildes (~), umlauts (¨), or diereses (¨) may be employed to indicate nasalization or vowel quality changes in certain languages. Other diacritics include cedillas (¸), which transform the pronunciation of a c to s (ç), and carons (ˇ), representing specific consonant sounds.

   Diacritics can be crucial in the accurate interpretation and understanding of written texts, particularly when differentiating homographs or words that look alike but have distinct meanings. They enhance linguistic precision and facilitate correct pronunciation, ensuring effective communication among speakers of various languages.

2. A diacritical mark or symptom.

   A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.

3. That separates or distinguishes-applied to points or marks used to distinguish letters of nearly similar form.

   Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.

Common Misspellings for DIACRITIC

• diauretic
• diaretic
• diacronic
• diacrtic
• Dicrotick
• diacraticl
• discraitin
• Diacromic

Etymology of DIACRITIC

The word "diacritic" can be traced back to the Greek term "diakritikos", which means "distinguishing" or "that which distinguishes". It is derived from the verb "diakrinein", meaning "to distinguish" or "to separate". In the context of linguistics, diacritics are marks or signs added to characters or letters to indicate a particular pronunciation, stress, accent, or change in sound. Therefore, the term "diacritic" refers to these distinguishing marks or signs added to written symbols.

Similar spelling words for DIACRITIC

• discord,
• Discarding,
• discredit,
• discard,
• critic,
• discretion,
• discordant,
• diacritical.

Plural form of DIACRITIC is DIACRITICS