Marco Cimarosti wrote:
>
> caeruleancentaur wrote:
> > I remember a few years back one of the car manufacturers built a car
> > they called the "Volaré," but the word was pronounced on the
> > penultimate. I could not fathom why the word needed an acute accent!
>
> I guess that's to show that the "e" is not mute. Cmp. "Pokémon".
>
> I don't think this is casual usage, as I have seen the acute used this way
> on a very serioush edition of Shakespeare's plays, especially for marking
> the /id/ pronunciation for the "-ed" ending.

Normally it's a grave.

> However, I find that a diaeresis is much better for this function, as in the
> surname of the Brontë sisters.

Slightly different function.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...