L’accent (en. The accent)

la-sã

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

noun

Distinctive characteristic in the pronunciation of a language, often determined by geographical or social factors.

He has a very strong Portuguese accent.

Il a un accent portugais très prononcé.

Diacritical mark on a letter to modify its sound or meaning.

The word 'café' has an acute accent on the 'e'.

Le mot 'café' a un accent aigu sur le 'e'.

Tonal or prosodic accent in music.

The accent is placed on the first note of the measure.

L'accent est placé sur la première note de la mesure.

The word comes from Latin 'accentus', meaning 'song' or 'intonation'.

to have an accent

To be identifiable by the way one pronounces words.

avoir un accent

to put emphasis on

To highlight or insist on something.

mettre l'accent sur

regional accent

Accent that characterizes a geographical region.

accent régional

accentuation

The action of marking an accent in written or spoken language.

accentuation

dialect

A variety of a language spoken in a specific region, often with distinct accents.

dialecte

pronunciation

The way of saying words in a language.

prononciation

To have an accent that reveals one's origins.

That guy, with his accent, he's from Marseille.

Ce gars-là, avec son accent, il vient de Marseille.

A way of speaking that indicates a certain social class.

She speaks with an accent that impresses everyone.

Elle parle avec un accent qui impressionne tout le monde.