4 ms·
For what it's worth, Wikipedia includes this explanation: > "In English, "mate" is occasionally written "maté", to distinguish it from other meanings of the wo
by grzm 9y ago
For what it's worth, Wikipedia includes this explanation:
> "In English, "mate" is occasionally written "maté", to distinguish it from other meanings of the word mate, although this spelling is not used in Spanish or Portuguese."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerba_mate
A similar example is "résumé", so as to not be confused with "resume".
Going further down the Wikipedia hole, here's a page describing use of diacritics in English, which includes a subsection on "Accent-addition and accent-removal":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_terms_with_diacritical_marks#Accent-addition_and_accent-removal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_terms_with_diacritical...
- kgwgk 9y ago“résumé” is not really a similar example, because that is the actual spelling of the word in French. Edit: but according to your link sometimes only the latter accent is kept in English.
- grzm 9y agoYeah, it varies depending on your dictionary or stylebook. For example, MW lists: > "résumé ... variants: or resume or less commonly resumé" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resume https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resume
- joelthelion 9y ago"résumé" (with accents) is a french word that means summary.
- a-priori 9y agoYes, and the origin is that a résumé was a summary of your curriculum vitae, listing only the most recent/relevant parts whereas the CV was complete list of your 'life course' including all your work history, accomplishments and accreditations, no matter how long that may be. Now, at least in industry in North America, the CV has largely disappeared. It still exists in academia and in Europe the term exists but the content is usually abbreviated like a resume.
- joelthelion 9y agoActually, European CVs are usually shorter than American résumés :)
- ThinkingGuy 9y agoI've also seen sake (the Japanese beverage) spelled as saké, presumably to distinguish it from the English word "sake."
- endemic 9y agoUsually you can infer the meaning of the word from its context, but the accent gives English speakers a better idea of how to pronounce it.
- JSGraef 9y agoReading this directly reminded me of a great poem "The Chaos" by Gerard Nolst Trenité (or is it Trenite? ;): http://ncf.idallen.com/english.html http://ncf.idallen.com/english.html
- ggambetta 9y agoCan't think of many non-constructed phrases where the meaning of "mate" would be ambiguous. "Drinking mate with my mates" (as many a hipster tech Londoner do in the startup scene :P). "I'm drinking my mate" should never be confusing outside of liquid cannibal circles!