Decoding the diaeresis

What is diaeresis?

Diaeresis, also spelled diaresis, is a type of diacritical mark. Diacritical marks are glyphs that are added to a letter. Diaeresis looks like two side-by-side dots above a letter (¨). The purpose of the diaeresis is to indicate that the second vowel of a word should be treated as an extra syllable. It comes from the Greek word diairesis, which means “division.”¹

In the past, words like re-enter with adjacent vowels used diaresis— the word used to be spelled reënter. Another example of this is the word poëm (now simply spelled poem).

Examples of diaeresis

Here are a few examples of diaresis in the English language:

• Naïve

With the word naïve, the diaresis indicates that the word is pronounced “ni-eve,” not “nave.”

• Noël

The diaresis in Noël tells the reader that this name is pronounced “No-elle,” not “noll.”

• Zoë

The diaresis in Zoë tells the reader that the name is pronounced Zo-ee. It doesn’t rhyme with the name “Joe.”

• Brontë

The diaresis in this famous author’s last name tells the reader that the name is pronounced “Bran-tee,” not “Bront.”

When should you use diaeresis?

Diaeresis isn’t necessary anymore in English. It’s most often used in names so that you know how to pronounce them. Most words that used diaeresis now use hyphens instead, or no diaresis at all. For example, the word coöperative can now be spelled co-operative or cooperative. However, you can use your newfound knowledge of diaeresis to impress your friends at your next trivia night.

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Diaeresis in the media

The magazine The New Yorker is known for its use of diaresis. The New Yorker’s copy editor, Mary Norris, shared that diaeresis was “the most elegant solution” for words like “‘cooperate,’ ‘co-operate,’ and ‘coöperate.'” seemed ridiculous, but without any kind of punctuation or diacritical marks, words could easily be misread. hyphen seemed ridiculous, but without any kind of punctuation or diacritical marks, words could easily be misread.

Diaeresis vs. umlaut

Many people confuse diaeresis and umlaut. Both umlaut and diaeresis use two tiny dots above vowels. However, umlaut is a German diacritical mark that changes the pronunciation of vowels. Umlaut is only used for the letters ä, ü, and ö. For example, the German word “schön” (meaning beautiful) uses an umlaut. Diaeresis, on the other hand, is used to differentiate two vowels in the same word. With umlaut, the word can only have one vowel and still have the diacritical mark above it.

Using diaeresis in Word

As you may have noticed, your computer doesn’t have the “¨” mark on your keyboard. If you wish to use it in Word:

1. Select Insert at the top of the screen.
2. Select Symbol.
3. Select More Symbols.
4. Scroll down until you find the vowel that you need with the diaresis over it.

There’s also a keyboard shortcut to use diaresis. Simply press CTRL and SHIFT on your keyboard while also pressing the colon button and the vowel in question.

If you’re interested in learning more about marks in English, find out what a semicolon is and when to use it in your writing.

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