The Latin alphabet was known, first in the Western world and after different periods of colonization around the world, a considerable geographical spread: Throughout its history, it has been stored or used by many people who used it to record their language. Originally intended for the language of the Romans , it does not already transcribed faithfully, the reduced number of letters showed the limits: using the language had to extend the possibilities of a more faithful transcript or shape of new letters , or create new units by means of several characters (such as digraphs ) or, finally, modifying existing letters using diacritics.

The evidence obtained can be considered as new graphemes (in this case they are included in the alphabet of the language), or as variants of the basic grapheme carrying them (they are not then listed in the alphabet). This distinction is very important for alphabetic words in a dictionary, for example. Thus, in Castilian , the letter diacrite (n tilde ) is considered an independent letter, classified as a result of n, while in French diacrites any variations of e (are , , , ) n ' is classified differently than if she wore no diacritic. Castilian, always, , , , , and are however not considered as alternatives but graphemes.

The International Phonetic Alphabet made extensive use of diacritics, those who own it are also covered in this series. Finally, the diacritics used in French is subject to additional articles.

Introduction

The use of diacritical proved very fruitful and it accelerated in the eighteenth century when it came to pass strictly text or set of languages that far discovered: the transcriptions and transliterations in Latin script , that is to say the romanization , required the use of diacritics in large numbers. It would indeed not easy to read a transcript in which certain letters were invented. The various phonetic alphabets, from new research in phonetics and phonology , have also used this method to extend the number of characters. Knowing, then, that many languages are not written or only recently, is now almost exclusively in the Latin alphabet extended they are written by linguists, using tools like the International Phonetic Alphabet. The Pan-Nigerian alphabet is representative in this regard.

Apex and throughout Latin i

In the early days of the Latin alphabet, there was virtually no punctuation (if we exclude the sporadic use of the midpoint word separator ), no diacritic. However, from the late ^second century BC. AD is a first combining said apex (in Latin : "tip"), which is not usual routine, far from it, or always used "good" advisedly, though its role is to indicate the presence of long vowels. It is quite common in the Roman Empire. The apex, which resembles an acute accent , however, does not place the letter I, which itself is drawn larger than normal. The apex is slightly offset to the right of the vowel carrier and the i long protruding over but will not drop below the baseline.

In the pictures above, we read:

• NUS CORV I and S I LANUS (left);
• FECIT (center);
• Romvlvs F MARTI I Livs VRBEM RMAM (right, note the median separators).

In the academic literature, we mark the amount of long vowels in Latin using the macron sign invented by the Greek grammarians: it would in this case Corvinus fecit, Romulus Martis Filius Urbem Rmam.

The apex and the i bring along important information about the phonology Latin: in fact, apart from the knowledge of the historical phonetics of the language is very often the scansion of to Latin vowel quantities we know words. However, the scanning does not reveal the quantity of syllables : the metric for Latin / mar / in Martis, is a long syllable (since closed), regardless of the amount of / a /. The apex on the letter A indicates here that the long syllable consists of a long vowel.

Symbols Abbreviations and editorials became diacritics

The apex long and i have not sufficiently widespread to be awarded in the post and uses are limited only to Latin (with the exception of the Czech Republic , which today still uses the apex). This, however, has grown substantially since the inception of the Latin alphabet, are the marks indicating the abbreviations present in epigraphy and then, especially in the manuscripts.

Initially, signs and procedures used to report such abbreviations are certainly not in the diacritical real sense, but changing role over the years, they could thereafter (usually in the Middle Ages) to become one, scribes being increasingly confronted with the problem of rating their native language by an alphabet that lends itself poorly. Indeed, the Latin language, after the fall of the Roman Empire had ceased to be - so to speak - the only one that was written.

Among the signs abbreviative reused include the titulus ("title", the word became tilde ), relating suscrit (later a wavy line) used to indicate a letter, usually a nasal , was omitted for reasons of economy of space (or material). For example, Annu (m) has been written in the manuscripts anu Spanish ao finally to become, "an" in Castilian , since / nn / Latin is spent / / (gn of in this language.

Superscript letters or written are also used in a function combining this is the case of z, first set after a c to indicate that he had to pronounce / ts / (now / s /) before vowels as a, o and u, was finally written below the c. This z subscribed zedilla named in Castilian, or "Little z" became our cedilla (see also Letter diacritic ). However, he existed before the cedilla, a diacritic graphically close (or close to a ogonek ) attested from the ^sixth century uncial as e, "said E caudata (" e with tail "), sometimes replacing the digraph ae ( writing sometimes, a custom which was later extended) for note in most cases a / / open. It is notable that this letter can be represented here by E (with ogonek) or (with a cedilla) has been retained in the transcription of Romanists as is the digraph ae (now presented as related ash and named) who has been in the transcription of Germanic languages (given that e was also used in Old English manuscripts of the Insular uncial).

Finally, more general editorial symbols (used to indicate errors of the copyist , for example) have also gained access to the status of diacritics, this happens with the punctum Delens ("deleting item"), very common in Irish manuscripts, which indicates that the covering letter is a mistake and should not be heard. By extension, then it indicates the letters from a silent consonant shift and every consonant mutations, and in Gaelic mo Fele, "my mantra," Mo Cu, "my dog" (now written FHEL mo, mo chu). Consult Point suscrit for details.

Some of these signs gave typographical symbols, such as the spider (#), N, surmounted by a former titulus , short for numerus, "number".

List of diacritical

Different diacritics used by the Latin alphabet

superscript

Superscript diacritics are placed over the letter they modify:

• : acute accent
• O: double acute accent
• O: caret
• : grave accent
• : double grave accent
• O: brief
• : short reversed
• O: Hook Head
• : Lacrosse
• : hacek or caron
• O: macron or line superscript
• : dot above (see also item in punctuation )
• o: round head , or by the term Czech Krouzek
• : tilde
• : umlaut or wrongly, umlaut
• o: chandrabindu : (note type of nasalization own in Sanskrit , it is found in the transcript of the syllable om , for example).

Subscribed

Diacritics underwritten are placed below the letter they modify:

• o: cedilla
• O: DOT
• : ogonek
• o: decimal
• o: palatal hook
• o: retroflex hook
• : loop subscribed
• o: tilde subscribed
• o: caret subscribed
• o: line subscribed
• o: vertical line (see also the article on the apostrophe )
• o: comma below
• o: short subscribed
• o: short reversed subscribed
• o: vertical line below
• o: Round subscribed

Adscrits

Adscrits diacritics are placed on the side of the letter they modify:

• l: apostrophe (replacing hacek in some cases);
• o: double quote;
• O: horn ;
• o : rhotic hook ;
• L: midpoint ;
• o: more ;
• o: less ;
• o: equal sign ;
• o: colon.

Registered

Diacritics enrolled are placed through the letter they modify:

• : bar included
• : slash
• o : slash-cons
• : tilde registered
• : strap included

Summary

The following table provides, for the most common diacritics, a list of Latin letters with a single diacritic available in Unicode:

Latin letters with two diacritics:

and 'seor' and also mentions 'Dona' .

• The tilde was also commonly used for abbreviations in manuscripts of the Middle Ages (bo for good, for q, etc.)..

References

1. Le Petit Robert, ISBN 2-85036-066-X
2. Definitions lexicographical and etymological 'canon' of CNRTL.
3. Definitions lexicographical and etymological of "seor" in CNRTL.
4. Definitions lexicographical and etymological of "Dona" of CNRTL.

Related articles

• Diacritic ;
• Diacritics used in French ;
• Additional letters of the Latin alphabet ;
• Latin alphabet ;
• Writing ;
• Sumnik ;
• Typography.

Latin alphabet
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Additional letters	d ( ) /
With diacritical	superscript: N hook or crook: ( ) H ( ) registered: DJ ( ) pm T Z
Digraphs	C. Dx Gb Kp LI Mb Mp Nd Ng Nh Nk Ns Nt Ny Nz Or Sh Th
Trigrams	C'h Ngb NKP Sch Tsh
Obsolete letters	s

Diacritical by alphabet
Arabic alphabet Cyrillic Greek alphabet Hebrew Alphabet Latin alphabet ( in French ) Tibetan Alphabet Devanagari Japanese syllabary

Blocks of Unicode characters for the Latin script

• Character Map Unicode - C0 Controls and Basic Latin
• Table of Unicode characters - commands C1 and Latin-1 Supplement
• Table of Unicode characters - Latin Extended-A
• Table of Unicode characters - Latin Extended-B
• Unicode character table - International Phonetic Alphabet
• Table of Unicode characters - letters variation flush
• Table of Unicode characters - diacritics
• Unicode character table - extra phonetic
• Unicode character table - extra extended phonetic
• Unicode character table - extra diacritical
• Table of Unicode characters - Latin Extended Additional
• Table of Unicode characters - General Punctuation
• Table of Unicode characters - subscripts and superscripts
• Table of Unicode characters - symbols of type letter
• Table of Unicode characters - Number Forms
• Table of Unicode characters - alphanumeric circled
• Table of Unicode characters - Latin Extended-C
• Table of Unicode characters - letters amending your
• Table of Unicode characters - Latin Extended-D
• Unicode Character Map - Alphabetic Presentation Forms
• Table of Unicode characters - half combining marks
• Table of Unicode characters - forms of half and full-width
• Table of Unicode characters - alphanumeric supplement Gull

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