Diaeresis facts for kids

Have you ever seen two tiny dots above or below a letter? These special marks are called diacritics, and the ones with two dots (like ¨) are used in many languages for different reasons. You might know them as the diaeresis or the umlaut. For example, in Albanian, the letter ë makes a soft "uh" sound, like the 'a' in "about". Sometimes, these dots are just used for style, like in the famous Brontë family name or the band Mötley Crüe.

On computers, these two-dot marks usually have the same digital code, even if they mean different things in different languages.

What the Two Dots Mean

The Diaeresis: Separating Sounds

The "diaeresis" (say "dye-AIR-uh-sis") mark helps you know when two vowels next to each other should be pronounced separately. Imagine the word "coöperate" (an older way to spell "cooperate"). The two dots over the second 'o' tell you to say "co-op-er-ate" with four syllables, not "coop-er-ate" with three. It's like a little reminder to open your mouth twice! This mark is used in some European languages, but it's rare in English today.

The Umlaut: Changing Vowel Sounds

The "umlaut" (say "OOM-lout") is a special mark that shows a vowel sound has changed. It's super important in German and other related languages. For example, in German, 'a' with an umlaut (ä) sounds different from a plain 'a'. The same goes for 'o' (ö) and 'u' (ü). Think of it as a way to make a "back" vowel sound more like a "front" vowel.

This mark actually came from an old German handwriting style called Sutterlin. In that script, the letter 'e' looked like two short lines very close together. Over time, these lines became the two dots we see today.

Using Dots for Style

Sometimes, the two dots are just for looks! The Brontë family, famous writers, added the two dots to the 'e' in their name (Brontë). Their original family name was "Brunty," but their father, Patrick Brontë, wanted to show that the 'e' at the end should be pronounced, making the name have two syllables instead of one.

You might also see something called a "metal umlaut." This is when rock or heavy metal bands add the two dots to their names just because it looks cool or edgy. Think of bands like Motörhead or Mötley Crüe. Even parody bands, like Spın̈al Tap, use it for fun!

Other Ways Languages Use Two Dots

The double dot isn't just for diaeresis or umlaut. It has other jobs too! The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which linguists use to write down sounds, uses a double dot above a letter for a "centralized vowel." This means the vowel sound is made more in the middle of your mouth. A double dot below a letter means a "breathy voice."

Vowel Dots in Different Languages

• In Albanian, Tagalog, and Kashubian, the letter ⟨ë⟩ makes a soft "uh" sound (like the 'a' in "about").
• In Māori, people used to use a diaeresis (like Mäori) on computers to show long vowels, because it was easier to type than the proper long vowel mark (a macron).
• The Cyrillic alphabets used in Belarusian and Russian have the letter ⟨ё⟩ (yo).
• In Ukrainian, ⟨Ї⟩ (yi) is used for a specific "yee" sound.
• In Swedish, Finnish, and Estonian, ⟨Ä⟩ and ⟨Ö⟩ are common letters with their own unique sounds.
• In J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth books, he used a diaeresis to show that vowels should be pronounced separately (like in Eärendil). He also put it on the final 'e' in names (like Manwë) to make sure readers pronounced it and didn't just ignore it.

Consonant Dots

• In Jacaltec (a Mayan language) and Malagasy, the letter n̈ makes a "ng" sound, like in "sing."
• In Udmurt, double dots are used on letters like ӝ, ӟ, and ӵ to make special consonant sounds.
• In Syriac, two dots above a word, called Siyame, show that the word is plural (meaning "more than one"). For example, ܒܝܬܐ means "house," but ܒܝ̈ܬܐ means "houses."

Dots Underneath

Sometimes, the two dots are placed *under* a letter. The IPA uses a "subscript umlaut" for certain sounds, like in the Hindi word for "potter."

How Computers Use Two Dots

When it comes to computers, the umlaut and the diaeresis are usually treated as the same mark. Unicode, which is a system for coding text, calls both of them "diaereses."

Typing Two Dots on a Keyboard

Letters with umlaut on a German computer keyboard.

If you live in a country where these letters are common, your keyboard probably has special keys for them. But if not, there are still ways to type them!

• Apple MacOS and iOS: On Apple devices, you can usually press and hold a letter key, and a menu will pop up with different versions of that letter, including ones with two dots. You can also press the Option keys together, then type the letter you want.
• Google ChromeOS: If you use a US-International keyboard setting, you can type " then the letter. For a UK extended setting, use AltGr, release, then the letter.
• Microsoft Windows: Many European keyboards have these letters built-in. If you have a US keyboard, you can set it to "US International." Then, if you type ", nothing will show up until you type the next letter. If it can be combined, it will be! In programs like Microsoft Word, you can press Ctrl and then the letter.
• Linux / X Window System: On Linux, you can use a Compose key. For example, Composea" will make an 'ä'.
• Special Keys: Keyboards in Germany have dedicated keys for ü, ö, and ä. Other countries like Sweden, Finland, and Turkey also have special keys for their unique letters.

On-Screen Keyboards

With touchscreens and tablets, on-screen keyboards are very popular. These keyboards often let you press and hold a key to see different options, including letters with two dots.

Two Dots on Websites (HTML)

When you see letters with two dots on a website, they are often created using special codes called "entity references." For example, the code `Ä` will show up as Ä on a webpage.

See also

• Dot (diacritic)
• Two dots (disambiguation)