Page:The Making of Latin.djvu/46

32 Written Signs of Accent

§ Here it is well to note that the ‘acute’ sign ´ is properly only used to mark an accented syllable; and the ‘circumflex’ ( ̂ or  ̑ or ˜) is properly used only in languages with a Musical accent, and then to mark a syllable in which the tone rises on the first half of the syllable and falls on the second half, as in Gr. .

Unfortunately these convenient signs have come to be used in writing many languages to denote not Accent at all, but merely a particular quality or quantity of vowel; as in Fr. passé, cité to mark a particular kind of e; or as in Fr. hâter to mark a long vowel. And still more unluckily these actual signs are called ‘accents’ although in fact they do not in such cases denote Accent at all.

§ In some period of the Indo-European parent language the Stress-accent upon one syllable robbed a preceding or following syllable of much of its quantity; words like Lat. dūco (older *déuco) ‘I lead,’ fīdo, older feido ‘I trust,’ show in their first syllable what is called the Normal form of the root; and this was preserved because in these verbs that syllable was accented in Indo-European. But there are words from the same roots, like dux, ducis ‘leader,’ fidēs ‘trust,’ which show a short form of the root, contaming only ŭ or ĭ instead of eu and ei; and this short or ‘Weak’ form