vocabulary for the day

[javasaurus]

The dot over the letter I or j is called a "tittle."

A similar word, "diaeresis," is a pair of dots over a vowel, indicating that it is pronounced separately from the preceding vowel, rather than as a dipthong (e.g., naïve). It looks like the German umlaut, but is used differently.

Marks such as the tittle and diaeresis and various similar marks and accents are collectively called "diacritics" or "diacritical marks."

Comments

[wilhelmina-d.livejournal.com]

Very cool! Thanks to you, I've learned something new today. :D

Diaeresis

[(Anonymous)]

I remember my professor pronouncing it diacresis but as I type, it is underlined. I looked it up in "dictionary" and it asked if I meant diaeresis, which is "a variant of dieresis." So I, too, have learned something new today.

Orkney Lover