The acute accent (´) is the only one now in use in Spanish, and it serves to indicate the syllable on which stress is to be laid. It marks departures from the rule that words of two or more syllables ending in a vowel or n or s are stressed on the last syllable but one, and those ending in a consonant (except n and s), on the final syllable. It is used also to distinguish between words of the same spelling but different meanings, and is placed over the preposition a, and the conjunctions e, o and u, when emphasised. The conjunction o must always be accented when used with figures.
Formerly, the grave accent (`) and the circumflex (^) were also in use in Spanish, all three accents being used indiscriminately to indicate the stressed syllable. The circumflex was used also on the vowel following ch and x in old Spanish spelling, to indicate that these letters were to be pronounced like k and ks respectively.
The diæresis (¨) is placed over the u in the syllables gue and gui when the u is to be pronounced, as in the words agüero, omen; argüir, to argue.
The hyphen (-) is used at the end of a line to connect the syllables of a divided word. It is also used in a few compound words.
The tilde (~) is used over the letter n only, and gives that letter a sound very similar to that of ni in the English word opinion.
It was originally a sign of abbreviation, and indicated the omission of an m or n.
The interrogation (?) and exclamation (!) marks are used before and after the sentence in Spanish, being inverted (¿ ¡) when preceding.
Other punctuation marks are used as in English.
PRONUNCIATION OF THE VOWELS.
Note.—Spanish vowels have each one sound only, but this sound is influenced by accent or stress, the emphasised vowel being naturally longer or fuller than the same vowel when not emphasised.