Re: Umlauts (was Re: Elves and Ill Bethisad)

Ray Brown scripsit:

> Strictly speaking the double-dot superscript
> diacritic is called _trema_.  The terms 'umlaut'
> and 'di(a)eresis' refer to _uses_ of the trema.
Unicode and ISO call the mark "diaeresis" regardless of function.

> It has led to the ignorant abomination of 'Nöel' (and I
> kid you not) which appeared in a advertising campaign
> here a few years back.
There is one language -- which one it is escapes me --
that regularly places the diaeresis on the first vowel.
JRRT's manuscripts also do this unsystematically, though
the second vowel is the normal position.

In Spanish, and in certain Catalan uses, u-trema simply
indicates that the u is pronounced as /w/ rather than
being a mere indicator that the preceding "g" is /g/.
Catalan also uses a French-style diaeresis.

--
I suggest you call for help,                    John Cowan
or learn the difficult art of mud-breathing.    jcowan@reutershealth.com
        --Great-Souled Sam                      http://www.ccil.org/~cowan

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