The Diacritics and Apostrophe

The Acute accent

Indicates that the stressed vowel is close, cf.:

• dóna (close o) (he) gives vs. dona (open o) woman;
• bé (close e) well vs. be (open e) lamb.

The vowels i and u are always close.

The Grave accent

Indicates that the stressed vowel is open, cf.:

• mòlt (open o) funfamental vs. molt (close o) much, very;
• pèl (open e) hair vs. pel (neutral e) art by the (contracted form).

The vowel a is always open.

The Dieresis

1) Indicates that the vowel bearing it (always an i or a u) does not form a dipthong with the previous one, cf.:

• reïna (3 syllables) f resin vs. reina (2 syllables) f queen.

2) Indicates that a u is pronounced in the groups güe, güi, qüe, qüi, cf.:

• aigüera f kitchen sink, eloqüència f eloquence.

Apostrophe

Indicates that a vowel is supressed, cf.:

• et you (obj. case) + estimo I love => t’estimo I love you.

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