Letters and symbols by language

LANGUAGE COLLECTIONS

Start with the language you are writing

The same mark can have a different purpose from one language to another. A language collection narrows the choices to the characters used in that writing system and explains the distinctions that matter there.

Choose by letter or accent mark

If you know the base letter but not the language, use the accented-letters collection. If you recognize the shape above or below a letter, use the accent-mark guide to compare acute, grave, circumflex, tilde, diaeresis, and cedilla forms.

Why language context matters

Unicode gives each character a stable technical identity, but the character’s name does not describe every linguistic use. Unicode names ä as a letter with diaeresis, while German speakers use it as an umlaut vowel. In French, the diaeresis in Noël has a different job. In Spanish, ñ is a separate alphabet letter rather than an optional decoration on N.

Copy the character found in the original spelling. Do not transfer a German substitution such as ue to a Spanish or Turkish word merely because the letter looks the same.

Typing depends on your keyboard layout

Keyboard instructions can vary by operating system, selected input language, physical layout, and app. Each collection identifies common methods and provides Unicode values for software that supports code entry. For frequent writing, installing the relevant language layout is usually more efficient than entering one code at a time.