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Literary notes about diacritical (AI summary)

The term "diacritical" has been used in literature to refer both to the functional aspects of orthography and to the challenges arising from its application or absence. In Xenophon’s work, for instance, it is noted that the diacritical marks have been lost, implying a disruption in the intended phonetic guidance [1]. In contrast, Mickiewicz discusses a specific diacritical application to the letter i, used to modify a preceding sibilant [2]. The concept also extends to non-Latin scripts; for example, Griffis explains how diacritical marks can expand the Japanese syllabary from forty-seven to seventy letters [3]. Additionally, Marco Polo’s account highlights that without diacritical points, distinct words may become indistinguishable, possibly due to clerical errors [4]. Finally, Haggard illustrates a transcription approach that forgoes diacritical marks entirely when rendering Greek fragments, demonstrating another facet of their literary use [5].
  1. The diacritical marks have been lost.
    — from Anabasis by Xenophon
  2. (But on i as a diacritical sign, modifying a preceding sibilant, see the preceding paragraph.)
    — from Pan Tadeusz; or, The last foray in Lithuania by Adam Mickiewicz
  3. The kana 13 is a syllabary of forty-seven letters, which by diacritical marks, may be increased to seventy.
    — from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis
  4. It is, perhaps, a clerical error for Bardshír; without diacritical points, both words are written alike.
    — from The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Marco Polo and da Pisa Rusticiano
  5. However, small fragments of Greek have been transcribed in brackets “{}” using an Oxford English Dictionary alphabet table, without diacritical marks.
    — from She by H. Rider Haggard

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