Definition of
Diacritical accent
It is called accent to the voice articulation that makes it possible to highlight, through pronunciation, a syllable of a word. Said distinction between syllables can be achieved through the use of a higher tone or a greater intensity.
It is possible to differentiate between different kinds of accent. This time we will focus on the diacritical accentalso know as emphatic accent because it appeals to emphasis on pronunciation to differentiate between two terms.
- What is the diacritic accent
- Examples in monosyllables
- Diacritic accent on pronouns
- Other considerations
- Related Topics Tree
What is the diacritic accent
The diacritical accent, which in writing requires the use of the accent mark (an oblique line), allows distinguishing between a stressed syllable and one unstressed syllablecontributing to the difference between two meanings.
It is common for the diacritic accent to be used with monosyllables which are used in different ways. We can analyze the case of further. If this monosyllable word has the diacritic accent with its corresponding tilde, it is a comparative adverb: “Walter is younger than Daniel”, “The Argentine surface is larger than the Chilean”. Instead, when further It does not have a diacritic accent, it is a conjunction: “I expressed my intention to leave office, but they did not allow it”, “I would go looking for you right now, but I can’t”.
It can help you: Comparative chart
Examples in monosyllables
Among the monosyllables, we find a long list of examples in which the use of the diacritic accent has to be resorted to in order to achieve the differentiation we need:
–From / Give. In the first case it does not have an accent because it is a preposition and in the second it does because it is a verbal form of the verb “to give”.
–he/he. The first term lacks this accent because it acts simply as an article. The second does have it because it is used as a personal pronoun.
–tea / tea. The first does not have a diacritical accent because it functions as a personal pronoun, while the second does have one because it acts as a noun. Specifically, this second word comes to give its name to the typical infusion of Great Britain.
See also: Infusion
Diacritic accent on pronouns
The use of the diacritical accent also appears in the exclamatory pronouns and in the interrogative pronounsto differentiate them from the conjunctions and of the Relative Pronouns.
The word whenwith a diacritical accent, is an interrogative pronoun: “When will you pay me back?”. Whenwithout accent, is a conjunction: “Last month is when it was hottest”.
Continue on: Why
Other considerations
It is important that it is clear to us that the diacritical accent becomes a very relevant tool when it comes to being able to correctly understand the texts in front of us. And it is that, among other things, it will allow us to differentiate the meaning of words that are written in the same way.
In addition to what has been indicated, we have to know that this type of accent that concerns us also plays a fundamental role in other languages that are not Spanish. Thus, for example, it is vital in Valencian when it comes to distinguishing words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. And it is that, as it shows, “be”, which is the young of a sheep, is not the same as “bé”, which is an adverb of manner or that can mean “wealth”.
See also: Breeding