The diacritic accent allows us to differentiate between two terms, such as tea (infusion) and te (personal pronoun).
An accent is called the articulation of the voice that makes it possible to highlight, through pronunciation, a syllable of a word. This distinction between syllables can be achieved through the use of a higher tone or greater intensity.
It is possible to differentiate between different types of accent. This time we will focus on the diacritic accent , also known as emphatic accent because it uses emphasis in pronunciation to differentiate between two terms.
What is the diacritic accent
The diacritic accent, which in writing requires the use of the accent (an oblique line ), allows us to distinguish between a stressed syllable and an unstressed syllable , helping to differentiate two meanings.
It is common for the diacritic accent to be used with monosyllables that are used in different ways. We can analyze the case further . If this monosyllable word has the diacritic accent with its corresponding accent, it is a comparative adverb: "Walter is younger than Daniel" , "The Argentine surface is larger than the Chilean one" . On the other hand, when it does not have a diacritical accent, it is a conjunction: "I expressed my intention to leave office, but they did not allow me to," "I would go look for you right now, but I can't."
The diacritical accent distinguishes more from more.
Examples in monosyllables
Among the monosyllables, we find a long list of examples in which we have to resort to the use of diacritic accent 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 "give."
– He/He . The first term lacks this accent because it simply acts 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 it because it acts as a noun. Specifically, this second word gives its name to the typical infusion of Great Britain.
Diacritical accent in pronouns
The use of diacritical accent also appears in exclamatory pronouns and interrogative pronouns , to differentiate them from conjunctions and relative pronouns .
The word when , with a diacritical accent, is an interrogative pronoun: "When will you pay me back?" . When , without accent, it is a conjunction: "Last month is when it was warmest."
Other considerations
It is important that we make it clear 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, among other things, it will allow us to differentiate what meaning words have that are written in the same way.
In addition to what is indicated, we have to know that this type of accent that concerns us also plays a primary role in languages other than 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, as an example, "be", which is the offspring of a sheep, is not the same as "bé", which is an adverb of manner or that can mean "wealth."