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
**(** &nbsp;̏ **) 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
**(** &nbsp;҃ **) titlo
* curls abuin
**(** ’ **) apostrophe
**(** &nbsp;̉ **) heuk (Vietnamese *dấu hỏi*)
**(** &nbsp;̛ **) 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  for vouel 7 for ordinar written , ance &lt;u-e&gt; afore nasals. , alang wi  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 &lt;i&gt; or  for tae shaw a vouel 2 /i/ soondin, tradeetionally written  , 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 &lt;a&gt; wis uised for tae shaw the stresst vouel 12 soondin. Haein &lt;à&gt; in  wirds sic as *awà* an *avà* an a circumflex abuin &lt;a&gt;, in wirds sic as *contermâcious*, *creâtor*, *generâtion* *nâtion*, *supplicâtion* but no in *sautan* whaur he follaed the tradeetional convention o  ineetial an medial, an  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  for tae shaw ae Ulster soondin // o &lt;i&gt; (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