# Diacreetic

A **diacreetic** is a for ordinar a wee merk eikit tae a letter o the aw-bay-sae. The wird comes frae frae the Greek *διακριτικός* (*diakritikós*, "disteenguishin"). Some diacreetical merks, sich as the grave an acute, but no the cedeela, is aften cried *accents*. Diacreetical merks for ordinar kythes abuin or ablo a letter.

The main uiss o diacreetics in the Laitin aw-bay-sae is tae chynge the soond vailyie o the letter that thay're eikit tae.

Amang the kynds o diacreetic merks is:

* accent merks (cried siclike acause the acute, the grave an the circumflex accent wis oreeginally uised for tae shaw sindry kynds o pitch accents, in the polytonic orthography o the Greek
	+ ( **´** ) acute accent (Laitin *apex*)
	+ ( **ˋ** ) grave accent
	+ ( **ˆ** ) circumflex accent
	+ ( **ˇ**  ) caron, cowpit circumflex, (Czech *háček*, Slovak *mäkčeň*, Slovene *strešica*, Lakota *ičášleče*)
	+ ( **˝** ) dooble acute accent
	+ ( **̏** ) dooble grave accent
* dots
	+ ( **˙** ), (**.** ) Dot (Indic *anusvara*)
	+ ( · ) *Interpunct*
	+ tittle, the dot usied bi defaut in the modren wee form o the Laitin letters "i" an "j"
	+ ( **¨** ) trema, diaeresis, or umlaut sign
	+ ( **ː** ) colon, uised in the Internaitional Phonetic Alphabet for tae shaw vouel lenth.
* ( **˚** ) ring(Swadish *kål*, Czech *kroužek* as in 'kůl')
* macron or line
	+ ( **¯** ) macron (Hawaiian *kahakō*)
	+ ( **ˍ** ) souderin macron ablo
* owerlays
	+ ( **|** ) baur throu the basic letter
	+ ( **/** ) sleesh throu the basic letter
	+ ( **–** ) straike throu the basic letter
* bowes
	+ ( **˘** ) breve
	+ siceelicus, a palaeographic diacreetic seemilar tae a caron or breve
	+ ( **˜** ) tilde
	+ ( **҃** ) titlo
* curls abuin
	+ ( **’** ) apostrophe
	+ ( **̉** ) heuk (Vietnamese *dấu hỏi*)
	+ ( **̛** ) horn (Vietnamese *dấu móc*)
* curls abo
	+ ( **,** ) comma
	+ ( **¸** ) cedeela
	+ ( **˛** ) ogonek

## Diacreetics in Scots

Scots an Inglis for ordinar disna uise diacreetics but thay are whiles uised in lend-wirds sic as the cedeela in *façade* shawin that it's soondit /s/ raither nor /k/; the diaeresis in *coöperate* that shaws that the twa vouels is soondit apairt; an the acute an grave 'accents,' that shaws that a final vouel is soundit, as in *saké*, tho mair aften than no, thae wirds is written 'ithoot diacreetics an naebody is ony the waur for it.

Some writers haes uised diacreetics in Scots. Ane o the first wis R. L. Stevenson that cannily uised <ü> for vouel 7 for ordinar written <ui>, ance <u-e> afore nasals. <ü>, alang wi <ø> for thon soond haes been uised bi Shetland dialect writers for tae gie the written wird a mair Scandinavie leuk. Stevenson himsel merkit in *Underwoods* that for tae pruive he belangs his age an can haud his ain wi reformers, haein no 'ithoot pride, eikit a new stummlin-block for Inglis readers an gien the prent page o his mither tongue a new uncouthness. (Stevenson 1905: 152–153)

William Laughton Lorimer, in his New Testament (1985) uised diacreetics as a guidal tae soondin Scots for thaim unfameeliar wi't, an no necessarily as a orthographic innovation. Lorimer uised a acute accent abuin <i> or <y> for tae shaw a vouel 2 /i/ soondin, tradeetionally written <ee> , in Laitinate wirds sic as *hýpocríte*, *mínister*, *peredítion*, *petítion*, *pítie* an *spírit* raither nor writin heepocrite, meenister, peredeetion, peteetion, peety an speerit, an in ither wirds sic as *kíng*, *lívin*, *síck*, *stír* an *wísdom* raither nor writin keeng, leevin, seek, steer an weesdom.

Forby thon, Lorimer uised acute accent in some wirds whaur a spellin 'ithoot it wad likely shaw the /i/ soondin onywey, sic as in *belíeve*, *bíeld*, *chíel*, *fíeld*, *píece* an *príest*. The uiss in the likes o *gíe* wis aiblins tae shaw it didna rhyme wi *pie* (the thingmies that can be etten). Baith a grave accent an a circumflex abuin <a> wis uised for tae shaw the stresst vouel 12 soondin. Haein <à> in wirds sic as *awà* an *avà* an a circumflex abuin <a>, in wirds sic as *contermâcious*, *creâtor*, *generâtion* *nâtion*, *supplicâtion* but no in *sautan* whaur he follaed the tradeetional convention o <au> ineetial an medial, an <aw> wird-ruit final.

Philip Robinson, whan makkin on Ulster Scots wis a leed in its ain richt in his *Ulster–Scots. A Grammar of the the Traditional Written and Spoken Language* (1997), slung a deify tae tradeetion an haed a mair complicate uiss o accents, uisin a grave accent for tae shaw the quality o a foregaun consonant. Forby thon he uised <ä> for tae shaw ae Ulster soondin /æ̈/ o <i> (vouel 15) afore vyceless soonds or
clusters that conteens thaim. Robinson didna follae it richt throu tho an haed
*bäg* an *pän* raither nor big an pin but *biggin* an *yin* (ane), aiblins acause the latter twa differs frae Inglis onywey.

## Soorces