What are Diacritics?
Welcome to our guide on French diacritics – those tiny embellishments that give the language of love its distinctive charm. But what exactly are they? In the field of linguistics, they are little marks placed above or below letters to alter their pronunciation or distinguish them from similar characters. I like to think of them as the seasoning that adds flavor to the linguistic dish. In the following sections, we’ll examine how each diacritic is called and how it alters the pronunciation of letters in French.
French Diacritics Table
| Letters | Name in French | Translation in English |
| É é | Un accent aigu | An acute accent |
| À/È/Ì/Ò/Ù à/è/ì/ò/ù | Un accent grave | A grave accent |
| Â/Ê/Î/Ô/Û â/ê/î/ô/û | Un accent circonflexe | A circumflex |
| Ë/Ï/Ü ë/ï/ü | Un tréma | A trema |
| Ç ç | Une cédille | A cedilla |
Historical Background
In the 16th century, during the Renaissance, accent marks were inserted above the letters of a word to offer phonetic precision; this was a real innovation from Latin, which had none. The first to appear was the acute accent, initially confined to the very end of words. Then came grave and circumflex accents, which gradually became more widespread.
These newcomers replaced certain letters, with “eschole” and “estre” becoming “école” and “être,” respectively. The circumflex hat allows us to avoid a few hiatuses (when two vowels are following each other), such as “âge”, formerly spelled “aage”, while the grave swallowed double consonants: “fidelle” then became “fidèle,” and “secrette” became “secrète”.
L’Accent Aigu
The French accent aigu, or acute accent in English, represented by a hat going upwards (´), is exclusively placed on the letter E in French. When added, it transforms its pronunciation from the neutral sound /ə/ to the clear and distinct sound /e/.
However, it’s essential to note that the letter E is not always pronounced as /ə/ in the absence of the accent. At the beginning of a word, the letter E is pronounced as /e/, regardless of whether it has an accent or not. For instance, the words “effet” pronounced [efɛ] meaning “effect” and “épée” pronounced [epe] meaning “sword” both start with the same sound. It usually has to do with the consonant that follows. But keep in mind that the French language is filled with exceptions, so don’t always trust the rules. Furthermore, when the letter E is paired with another letter, such as N, it can create different vowel sounds altogether. For example, “en,” meaning “in,” is pronounced [ɑ̃]. More about the French vowels in this article.
- Épée
L’Accent Grave
The accent grave, indicated by a hat going downwards (`), can be placed on the vowels À, È, Ì, Ò, and Ù. When it appears on the letter E, it alters the pronunciation from the neutral sound /ə/ to the open sound /ɛ/, like in the word “père” pronounced [pɛʀ], meaning “father.” However, it’s important to note that pronunciation may vary regionally, with some individuals pronouncing “père” as [peʀ]. For the other vowels, namely À, Ì, Ò, and Ù, the pronunciation remains unchanged. For instance, the word “là,” meaning “there,” is pronounced just like “la,” the feminine definite article “the” [la].
Words with the accent grave on Ì or Ò are often foreign, like “bánh mì,” the delicious Vietnamese sandwich. For the letter Ò, it usually comes from Italian or Spanish, such as the name “Niccolò”. However, names of historical figures may be translated, like “Niccolò Machiavelli” to “Nicolas Machiavel.” In the case of the letter Ù, the most notable word is “où,” meaning “where,” which is pronounced the same as the word “ou” (without the accent) [u], meaning “or.” This distinction in spelling serves to differentiate between the two words in written French, just like “là” and “la” we just saw.
- Père
- Là
- Bánh mì
- Niccolò
- Où
L’Accent Circonflexe
The accent circonflexe, circumflex in English, looking like an Asian conical hat (^), can also be applied to all the letters Â/Ê/Î/Ô/Û. Traditionally, it was used on the letter A to indicate the avoidance of writing a double consonant. As such, there should theoretically be a distinction between the letter A pronounced /a/ and the letter  pronounced /ɑ/, as seen in “ami” pronounced [ami] meaning “friend” and “âme” pronounced [ɑm] meaning “soul.” However, in contemporary French, most individuals pronounce them the same way. If one still wants to sound more grammatically proper, one may opt to pronounce  as a long vowel.
The accent circonflexe on the letter E means that it is used to be followed by the letter S. Consequently, despite having the same pronunciation as È /ɛ/, the accent marks a historical evolution. This distinction can also aid English speakers, as seen in the transformation from “forest” to “forêt.” The same principle applies to the letters Î, Ô, and Û. For instance, “isle” becomes “île,” “hospital” becomes “hôpital,” and “August” becomes “août.”
- Âme
- Forêt
- Île
- Hôpital
- Août
Le Tréma
The tréma, indicated by the two dots (¨), is exclusively applied to the letters Ë/Ï/Ü in French. Its primary function is to signal that two adjacent vowels should be pronounced separately. For example, in the word “Noël,” meaning “Christmas,” the tréma prompts the pronunciation [nɔɛl]. Similarly, in “ambiguë,” the feminine form of “ambiguous,” the tréma ensures correct pronunciation as [ɑ̃bigy], as opposed to the incorrect pronunciation [ɑ̃big] without it.
Likewise, in “naïf,” meaning “naive,” the tréma implies the pronunciation [naif], ensuring the separation of the vowels A and I, otherwise read [nɛf]. The biblical name “Ésaü,” pronounced [ezay], requires the tréma on the U to prevent mispronunciation as [ezo].
It’s worth noting that these accent marks can pose challenges even for native French speakers. The Académie française, responsible for establishing grammatical rules, periodically updates guidelines related to these accents. For instance, “ambiguë” was also previously written as “ambigüe” (with a tréma on the letter U). But a reform in the 1990s standardized the spelling to only keep the tréma on the E. Despite the complexities, it’s important not to be discouraged when learning the language. Communication remains paramount, and while mastering these nuances may be challenging, perseverance is key.
- Noël
- Ambiguë
- Naïf
- Ésaü
La Cédille
The cédille, represented by a little tail underneath the letter C, is unique in that it exclusively attaches to this letter in French. Its primary function is to alter the pronunciation of C from /k/ to /s/. A prominent example illustrating this change is found in the word “garçon,” meaning “boy.” Without the cédille, it would be pronounced [gaʀkɔ̃], with a /k/ sound. Whereas with the cédille, it is correctly pronounced [gaʀsɔ̃], with a /s/ sound. This modification ensures clarity and accuracy in pronunciation.
- Garçon
Conclusion
That’s it! We’ve covered all the French diacritics, from the acute and grave accents both tweaking the sound of the letter E. We’ve delved into the circumflex’s job of marking some historical twists and the tréma’s task of separating vowels clearly. And let’s not forget the cédille, that little tail on C switching up its sound. These diacritics are like the seasoning in a French dish, adding flavor and depth to the language. So even if, it makes it a bit more complicated, try to embrace them as you learn more words in the language of love!
Are you an Absolute Beginner in French? First, let’s study the alphabet!
Did you know that the French language has a total of 19 different vowel sounds? That is a lot!