Diaeresis (diacritic)
Okay, so have you ever seen two little dots above a letter in a word? That's called a diaeresis! It's a fancy word for a fancy symbol.
The diaeresis is used to show that two vowels next to each other should be pronounced as separate sounds instead of one sound. So instead of blending together, they get their own spots to shine!
For example, let's look at the word "coöperate". Without the diaeresis, it might look like "cooperate", and you might think that the two Os make the "oo" sound like in "boot". But with the diaeresis, you know that each O should be pronounced separately, like "co-op-er-ate".
So next time you see those two little dots above a letter, you'll know it's there to help you pronounce the word correctly!
The diaeresis is used to show that two vowels next to each other should be pronounced as separate sounds instead of one sound. So instead of blending together, they get their own spots to shine!
For example, let's look at the word "coöperate". Without the diaeresis, it might look like "cooperate", and you might think that the two Os make the "oo" sound like in "boot". But with the diaeresis, you know that each O should be pronounced separately, like "co-op-er-ate".
So next time you see those two little dots above a letter, you'll know it's there to help you pronounce the word correctly!