Accents in English

[Anonymous]

My question is: Are there or were there words in English spelled with written accent? I mean, like mamá, in Spanish, for example.

Thanks in advance for your prompt reply,


Ana Virginia Gutiérrez De Gregori

 

[Susie Smith]

My question is: Are there or were there words in English spelled with written accent? I mean, like mamá, in Spanish, for example.

Thanks in advance for your prompt reply,


Ana Virginia Gutiérrez De Gregori

Only words that come from other languages, such as "fiancée" which comes from French.

 

[MikeNewYork]

My question is: Are there or were there words in English spelled with written accent? I mean, like mamá, in Spanish, for example.

Thanks in advance for your prompt reply,


Ana Virginia Gutiérrez De Gregori

The trend in American English is to drop foreign diacritical marks. It used to be common to see them in resume, fiance, fiancee, etc. There was also a time when we used to use two dots (like an umlaut) over the second of two o's in sequence when they occurred in separate syllables, such as cooperate. This practice has also diminished.

 

[Tdol]

In BE, many drop them, but others keep them if the word is French, like café. They are sometimes kept in names; Citroën. ;-)