Editing Circumflex (section)

===Diacritic on vowels===

====Pitch====
{{See also|Ancient Greek accent}}
The circumflex has its origins in the [[Greek diacritics|polytonic orthography]] of [[Ancient Greek]], where it marked [[vowel length|long vowels]] that were pronounced with high and then falling [[Pitch accent|pitch]]. In a similar vein, the circumflex is today used to mark [[tone contour]] in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]]. This is also how it is used in [[Bamanankan language|Bamanankan]] (as opposed to a [[háček]], which signifies a rising tone on a syllable).

The shape of the circumflex was originally a combination of the [[acute accent|acute]] and [[grave accent]]s (^), as it marked a [[syllable]] contracted from two vowels: an acute-accented vowel and a non-accented vowel (all non-accented syllables in Ancient Greek were once marked with a grave accent).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smyth |first=Herbert Weir |url=http://www.ccel.org/s/smyth/grammar/html/toc_uni.htm |title=A Greek Grammar for Colleges |date=1920 |publisher=American Book Company |location=New York |author-link=Herbert Weir Smyth |via=ccel.org |access-date=2017-10-15 |archive-date=2018-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126022458/http://www.ccel.org/s/smyth/grammar/html/toc_uni.htm |url-status=live }}: "155. The ancients regarded the grave originally as belonging to every syllable not accented with the acute or circumflex; and some Mss. show this in practice, e.g. πὰγκρὰτής. [...]"</ref>{{clarify|date=April 2014|reason=A. Was it universal up to a period? Or did it happen only in some cases, by some, but not all, "groups" of scribes/"writers"? B. A citation is in any case needed.}} Later a variant similar to the [[tilde]] (~) was also used.

{|align="center" style="font-size: large"
|-
| νόος 
|rowspan=2 style="padding: 1em; text-align: center"| <em style="font-size: small">contraction </em><br/>→<br/><em style="font-size: small">([[synaeresis]])</em>
| ν-'''´ō`'''-ς = νō͂ς = νοῦς
|- 
| nóos 
| n-'''´ō`'''-s = nō̂s = noûs
|}

The term "circumflex" is also used to describe similar tonal accents that result from combining two vowels in related languages such  as Sanskrit and Latin.

Since [[Modern Greek]] has a [[stress (linguistics)|stress accent]] instead of a pitch accent, the circumflex has been replaced with an [[acute accent]] in the modern monotonic orthography.

==== Length ====
The circumflex accent marks a [[vowel length|long vowel]] in the [[orthography]] or [[transliteration]] of several languages.

* In [[Afrikaans]], the circumflex marks a [[vowel]] with a lengthened pronunciation, often arising from [[compensatory lengthening]] due to the loss of {{angbr|g}} from the original [[Dutch language|Dutch]] form. Examples of circumflex use in Afrikaans are ''sê'' "to say", ''wêreld'' "world", ''môre'' "tomorrow", ''brûe'' "bridges".
* In the transliteration of [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], the circumflex indicates a long vowel resulting from an [[aleph]] contraction.
* In western [[Cree language|Cree]], [[Sauk language (Algonquian)|Sauk]], and [[Saulteaux language|Saulteaux]], the Algonquianist Standard Roman Orthography (SRO) indicates long vowels {{IPA|[aː eː iː oː~uː]}} either with a circumflex ⟨''â ê î ô''⟩ or with a [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]] ⟨''ā ē ī ō''⟩.
* The PDA orthography for [[Domari language|Domari]] uses circumflex-bearing vowels for length.
* In [[Emilian dialect|Emilian]], ''â î û'' are used to represent {{IPA|[aː, iː, uː]}}
* [[French language|French]]. In some varieties, such as in [[Belgian French]], [[Swiss French]] and [[Acadian French]], vowels with a circumflex are long: ''fête'' {{IPA|[fɛːt]}} (party) is longer than ''faite'' {{IPA|[fɛt]}}. This [[compensatory lengthening|length compensates]] for a deleted consonant, usually ''s''. French words with deleted ''s'' include châtain and hôpital.
* [[Friulian language|Standard Friulian]].
* [[Japanese language|Japanese]]. In the [[Nihon-shiki]] system of [[Romaji|romanization]], the circumflex is used to indicate long vowels. The [[Kunrei-shiki]] system, which is based on Nihon-shiki system, also uses the circumflex. The Traditional and Modified forms of the [[Hepburn romanization|Hepburn]] system use the [[macron (diacritic)|macron]] for this purpose, though some users may use the circumflex as a substitute if there are difficulties inputting the macron, as the two diacritics are visually similar.
* [[Jèrriais]].
* In [[Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN|UNGEGN]] romanization system for [[Khmer language|Khmer]], ''â'' is used to represent {{IPA|[ɑː]}}, ''ê'' {{IPA|[ae]}} in first series and {{IPA|[ɛː]}} in second series, and ''ô'' for {{IPA|[ɔː]}}. There are also additional vowels which are [[diphthong]]s such as ''aô'' {{IPA|[ao]}}, ''âu'' {{IPA|[ʔɨw]}}, ''âm'' {{IPA|[ɑm]}}, ''ŏâm'' {{IPA|[oəm]}} and ''aôh'' {{IPA|[ɑh]}}.
* In [[Kurmanji|Kurmanji Kurdish]], ⟨ê î û⟩ are used to represent {{IPA|/eː iː uː/}}.<ref>{{Citation |last=Thackston |first=Wheeler M. |title=Kurmanji Kurdish: A Reference Grammar with Selected Readings |date=2006 |url=http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/Kurmanji/kurmanji_1_grammar.pdf |page=11 |access-date=November 26, 2016 |mode=cs1 |via=Iranian Studies at Harvard University |archive-date=June 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616142342/http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/Kurmanji/kurmanji_1_grammar.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In [[Mikasuki]], circumflexed vowels indicate a rising and falling pitch or tone.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cypress |first=Carol |title=A Dictionary of Miccosukee |date=2006 |publisher=Ah Tah Thi Ki |location=Clewiston, FL, USA}}</ref>
* In [[Adûnaic]], the [[Black Speech]], and [[Khuzdul]], constructed languages of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], all long vowels are transcribed with the circumflex. In [[Sindarin]], another of Tolkien's languages, long vowels in [[syllable|polysyllabic]] words take the [[acute accent|acute]], but a circumflex in monosyllables, to mark a [[phoneme|non-phonemic]] extra lengthening.

==== Stress ====
[[File:27 Y Parêd.jpg|thumb|Bilingual sign showing the use of the circumflex in Welsh as an indicator of length and stress: ''parêd'' [paˈreːd] "parade", as opposed to ''pared'' [ˈparɛd] "partition wall".]]

The circumflex accent marks the [[Stress (linguistics)|stressed vowel]] of a word in some languages:

* [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''â'', ''ê'', and ''ô'' are stressed [[close vowels]], opposed to their open counterparts ''á'', ''é'', and ''ó'' (see below).
* [[Welsh language|Welsh]]: the circumflex, due to its function as a disambiguating lengthening sign (see above), is used in polysyllabic words with word-final long vowels. The circumflex thus indicates the stressed syllable (which would normally be on the [[penult|penultimate syllable]]), since in Welsh, non-stressed vowels may not normally be long. This happens notably where the singular ends in an ''a'',  to, e.g. singular ''camera'', ''drama'', ''opera'', ''sinema'' → plural ''camerâu'', ''dramâu'', ''operâu'', ''sinemâu''; however, it also occurs in singular nominal forms, e.g. ''arwyddocâd''; in verbal forms, e.g. ''deffrônt'', ''cryffânt''; etc.

==== Vowel quality ====
*In [[Breton language|Breton]], it is used on an ''e'' to show that the letter is pronounced [[Vowel height|open]] instead of closed.
* In [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], the sound represented in Bulgarian by the Cyrillic letter ''ъ'' (''er goljam'') is usually transliterated as ''â'' in systems used prior to 1989. Although called a [[schwa]] (misleadingly suggesting an unstressed lax sound), it is more accurately described as a [[close-mid back unrounded vowel#Mid back unrounded vowel|mid back unrounded vowel]] {{IPAslink|ɤ}}. Unlike [[English language|English]] or [[French language|French]], but similar to [[Romanian language|Romanian]] and [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]], it can be stressed.
* In [[Pinyin]] romanized [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin Chinese]], ''ê'' is used to represent the sound {{IPAslink|ɛ}} in isolation, which occurs sometimes as an exclamation.
* In French, the letter ''ê'' is normally pronounced [[open-mid vowel|open]], like ''è''. In the usual pronunciations of central and northern [[France]], ''ô'' is pronounced [[close-mid vowel|close]], like ''eau''; in Southern France, no distinction is made between [[close-mid vowel|close]] and [[open-mid vowel|open]] ''o''.
* In [[Phuthi language|Phuthi]], ''î'' and ''û'' are used to mark [[superclose vowel]]s {{IPAslink|ɪ}} and {{IPAslink|ʊ}}, respectively.
* [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''â'' {{IPAslink|ɐ}}, ''ê'' {{IPAslink|e}}, and ''ô'' {{IPAslink|o}} are stressed high vowels, in opposition to ''á'' {{IPAslink|a}}, ''é'' {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, and ''ó'' {{IPAslink|ɔ}}, which are stressed low vowels.
* In [[Romanian language|Romanian]], the circumflex is used on the vowels ''â'' and ''î'' to mark the vowel {{IPAslink|ɨ}}, similar to Russian ''[[yery]]''. The names of these accented letters are ''â din a'' and ''î din i'', respectively. (The letter ''â'' only appears in the middle of words; thus, its [[majuscule]] version appears only in all-capitals inscriptions.)
* In [[Slovak language|Slovak]], the circumflex (''vokáň'') on ''ô'' (uppercase ''Ô'') indicates a [[diphthong]] {{IPA|sk|ʊɔ|}}.
* In [[Swedish language|Swedish]] [[dialect]] and [[folklore]] [[literature]] the circumflex is used to indicate the phonemes {{IPAslink|a|a(ː)}} or {{IPAslink|æ|æ(ː)}} ''(â)'', {{IPAslink|ɶ|ɶ(ː)}} or {{IPAslink|ɞ|ɞ(ː)}} (''ô'') and {{IPAslink|ɵ|ɵ(ː)}} (''û'') in dialects and regional accents where these are distinct from {{IPAslink|ɑ|ɑ(ː)}} (''a''), {{IPAslink|ø|ø(ː)}} (''ö'') or {{IPAslink|o|o(ː)}} (''o'' or ''å'') and {{IPAslink|ʉ|ʉ(ː)}} (''u'') respectively, unlike Standard Swedish where {{IPA|[a]}} and {{IPA|[ɑː]}}, {{IPA|[ɵ]}} and {{IPA|[ʉː]}} are short and long allophones of the phonemes {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/ʉ/}} respectively, and where [[Old Swedish]] short {{IPAslink|o}} (''ŏ'') has merged with {{IPA|/o(ː)/}} from Old Swedish {{IPA|/ɑː/}} (''ā'', Modern Swedish ''[[å]]'') instead of centralizing to {{IPA|[ɞ]}} or fronting to {{IPA|[ɶ]}} and remaining a distinct phoneme (''ô'') as in the dialects in question. Different methods can be found in different literature, so some author may use ''æ'' instead of ''â'', or use ''â'' where others use ''å̂'' (''å'' with a circumflex; for a sound between  {{IPA|/ɑ(ː)/}} and {{IPA|/o(ː)/}}).
* [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] ''â'' {{IPAslink|ə}}, ''ê'' {{IPAslink|e}}, and ''ô'' {{IPAslink|o}} are higher vowels than ''a'' {{IPAslink|ɑ}}, ''e'' {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, and ''o'' {{IPAslink|ɔ}}. The circumflex can appear together with a [[Tonal language#Notational systems|tone mark]] on the same vowel, as in the word ''Việt''.  Vowels with circumflex are considered separate letters from the base vowels.

====Nasality====
* In [[Luxembourgish]] ''m̂ n̂'' can be used to indicate nasalisation of a vowel. Also, the circumflex can be over the vowel to indicate nasalisation. In either case, the circumflex is rare.
* In several [[New Caledonian languages|indigenous languages of New Caledonia]], a circumflex indicates [[Nasal vowel|nasality on vowels]]: e.g. the orthography [[Xârâcùù]] contrasts its [[oral vowel]]s ''a'' {{IPAslink|ɑ}}, ''e'' {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, ''i'' {{IPAslink|i}}, ''u'' {{IPAslink|u}} with its [[nasal vowel]]s ''â'' {{IPAslink|ɑ̃}}, ''ê'' {{IPAslink|ɛ̃}}, ''î'' {{IPAslink|ĩ}}, ''ô'' {{IPAslink|ɔ̃}}, ''û'' {{IPAslink|ũ}} – with duplicated variants indicating length (e.g. ''êê'' {{IPAslink|ɛ̃ː}}). Due to typographical shortage of characters, some nasal vowels in Xârâcùù are encoded with an [[Diaeresis (diacritic)|umlaut]]: e.g. ''ä'' {{IPAslink|ʌ̃}}, ''ü'' {{IPAslink|ɨ̃}}).

====Other articulatory features====
* In [[Emilian dialect|Emilian]], ''ê ô'' {{IPA|[eː, oː]}} denote both length and height.
* In [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], [[Cebuano language|Cebuano]] and most [[Philippine languages]], the circumflex accent (''pakupyâ'') is used to represent the simultaneous occurrence of a stress and a [[glottal stop]] on the last vowel of a word. Though not part of the official alphabet, possible combinations can include: â, ê, î, ô, and û. But in the case of [[Tboli language|T'boli]], the circumflex accent is only used as a pure unstressed glottal stop. It works as a combination of acute and grave accent; with the case of letters é and ó which represents the sound of {{IPAslink|ɛ}} and {{IPAslink|o}} respectively and can be shown as ê and ô if it contains a glottal stop.<ref name="expr">{{Cite web |last=Morrow |first=Paul |date=March 16, 2011 |title=The Basics of Filipino Pronunciation: Part 2 of 3: Accent Marks |url=http://www.pilipino-express.com/history-a-culture/in-other-words/1180-basics-of-filipino-pronunciation-part-2.html |access-date=July 18, 2012 |website=Pilipino Express |archive-date=December 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227075213/http://www.pilipino-express.com/history-a-culture/in-other-words/1180-basics-of-filipino-pronunciation-part-2.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="tagalog">{{Cite book |url=http://www.supadu.com/images/ckfinder/26/pdfs/PIMSLEUR/Tagalog_Phase1-Bklt.pdf |title=Tagalog Reading Booklet |date=2007 |publisher=Simon & Schister's Pimsleur |page=5&ndash;6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127030759/http://www.supadu.com/images/ckfinder/26/pdfs/PIMSLEUR/Tagalog_Phase1-Bklt.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-27 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*In [[Romagnol dialect|Romagnol]], they are used to represent the diphthongs {{IPA|/eə, oə/}}, whose specific articulation varies between dialects, e.g. ''sêl'' {{IPA|[seəl~seɛl~sæɛl~sɛɘl]}} "salt".
* In [[Old Tupi]], the circumflex changed a vowel into a [[semivowel]]: ''î'' {{IPAblink|j}}, ''û'' {{IPAblink|w}}, and ''ŷ'' {{IPAblink|ɰ}}.
*In [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]], the letter ''ŷ'' {{IPAblink|ɨ}} is sometimes used to transliterate the [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] ''ы''.
* In [[Turkish language|Turkish]], the circumflex over ''a'' and ''u'' is sometimes used in words of [[Arabic]] or [[Persian language|Persian]] derivation to indicate when a preceding consonant (''k'', ''g'', ''l'') is to be pronounced as a [[palatal consonant|palatal]] plosive; {{IPAblink|c}}, {{IPAblink|ɟ}} (''kâğıt'', ''gâvur'', ''mahkûm'', ''Gülgûn''). The circumflex over ''i'' is used to indicate a [[Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba|nisba]] suffix (''millî'', ''dinî'').<ref name="tdk" />
* In [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]] romanization of [[Hokkien]], the circumflex over a vowel (a, e, i, o, o͘, u) or a syllabic nasal (m, ng) indicate the [[tone (linguistics)|tone]] number 5, traditionally called Yang Level or Light Level (陽平). The [[tone contour]] is usually low rising. For example, ''ê'' {{IPA|[e˩˧]}}, ''n̂g'' {{IPA|[ŋ̩˩˧]}}.

====Visual discrimination between homographs====
* In [[Serbo-Croatian]] the circumflex can be used to distinguish [[homograph]]s, and it is called the "genitive sign" or "length sign". Examples include ''sam'' "am" versus ''sâm'' "alone". For example, the phrase "I am alone" may be written ''Ja sam sâm'' to improve clarity. Another example: ''da'' "yes", ''dâ'' "gives".<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.srpskijezickiatelje.com/pravopis:ostali-znaci#toc2 |title=Pravopis Srpskog Jezika |language=sr |chapter=Genitivni znak |access-date=2011-04-25 |archive-date=2012-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308121610/http://www.srpskijezickiatelje.com/pravopis:ostali-znaci#toc2 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Turkish language|Turkish]]. According to [[Turkish Language Association]] orthography, ''düzeltme işareti'' "correction mark" over ''a'', ''i'' and ''u'' marks a [[long vowel]] to disambiguate similar words. For example, compare ''ama'' "but" and ''âmâ'' "blind", ''şura'' 'that place, there' and ''şûra'' "council".<ref name="tdk">{{Cite web |title=Düzeltme İşareti |trans-title=Correction Mark |url=http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF4EC2F94D94121ECE |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221180227/http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF4EC2F94D94121ECE |archive-date=February 21, 2007 |website=Türk Dil Kurumu |language=tr}}</ref> In general, circumflexes occur only in [[Arabic]] and [[Persian language|Persian]] [[loanwords]] as vowel length in early Turkish was not phonemic. However, this standard was never applied entirely consistently<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Geoffrey |title=The Turkish Language Reform: A Catastrophic Success |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-823856-8 |location=Oxford}}</ref> and by the late 20th century many publications had stopped using circumflexes almost entirely.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kornfilt |first=Jaklin |title=Turkish |year=1997 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-00010-6 |location=London|author-link=Jaklin Kornfilt}}</ref> 
* [[Welsh language|Welsh]]. The circumflex is known as ''hirnod'' "long sign" or ''acen grom'' "crooked accent", but more usually and colloquially as ''to bach'' "little roof". It lengthens a stressed vowel (''a, e, i, o, u, w, y''), and is used particularly to differentiate between [[homonym|homographs]]; e.g. ''tan'' and ''tân'', ''ffon'' and ''ffôn'', ''gem'' and ''gêm'', ''cyn'' and ''cŷn'', or ''gwn'' and ''gŵn''. However the circumflex is only required on elongated vowels if the same word exists without the circumflex - "nos" (night), for example, has an elongated "o" sound but a circumflex is not required as the same word with a shortened "o" doesn't exist.
* The [[French orthography|orthography of French]] has a few pairs of [[homophone]]s that are only distinguished by the circumflex: e.g. ''[[:wikt:du#French|du]]'' {{IPA|fr|dy|}} ([[partitive]] article) vs. ''[[:wikt:dû|dû]]'' {{IPA|fr|dy|}} 'due'.