

In English, words having diacritics are borrowings from other languages, and the marks are not a natural part of the English language itself. For example, pâte refers to clay whereas pate refers to the head, and résumé or resumé is used for a work history versus resume, which means "to begin again."ĭiacritical marks take such forms as a straight or curvy line or a dot or a pair of dots, and they are an integral part of spelling in many foreign languages. Diacritics are marks placed above or below (or sometimes next to) a letter in a word to indicate a particular pronunciation-in regard to accent, tone, or stress-as well as meaning, especially when a homograph exists without the marked letter or letters.
