>From the keyboard of Yanick Champoux [12.01.08,18:50]:
> *dieresis* or *diæresis *A diacritical mark (* ¨ *) optionally
used in
> English, oftentimes replaced by a hyphen. In English, the dieresis
is used on
> a second identical vowel to indicate a change in pronunciation of
that vowel
> or indicate it is pronounced in a separate syllable. It is sometimes
referred
> to as an « umlaut » when used with a single character or in a «
diphthong. »
> Examples: reëlecting, reëncoding, coöperation, coördination.
I want to clarify (only because I myself was confused at first)
that an umlaut can be used IN a diphthong, but does not have
any function in MAKING a diphthong. For example, the
German diphthong "au" becomes "äu" due to umlaut, (or "vowel
shifting").
Unless I am mistaken.
--
John Douglas Porter
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