This Circumflex Accent Keyboard is an online tool that allows anyone to create, make or put a Circumflex accent mark above or below any letter or character in just three steps.
We all know that our keyboards have a standard set of letters, numbers, and symbols on them. To type these characters, we usually don’t need to press more than a few keys at once. There are times, however, when we need to type special letters, such as those with the Circumflex accent mark below or above them.
There are several ways to type these special letters on the keyboard, however, with some level of difficulty. And if you’re someone who frequently types any of the Circumflex Accented letters, you may find it time-consuming to try to find ways to get those symbols with your keyboard.
That’s why we created this free Circumflex Accent Keyboard for people like you to use, as it enables anyone irrespective of their technical knowledge to type and put Circumflex accents on any letter or character.
Thus, to type letters with the Circumflex accent marks (below or above them), use this free online keyboard tool. You can do so following the steps below:
Now that you’ve gotten the tool to type any letter with the Circumflex accent, we will like to use this opportunity to educate you more about this symbol.
The Circumflex Accent is not well known by most English speakers. It does not appear in English as much as the grave or the acute accent. If you consider borrowed words like ‘cafe’ that remain in the English dictionary, there are no borrowed words with the circumflex accent in the English dictionary.
Regardless, the circumflex is one of the most common diacritics or accent marks, and you can find it in most software and writing tools. Here's everything you need to know about the circumflex accent, from its history to how you can use it in your documents today.
Greek historians referred to the circumflex as a combination of acute and grave. The name περισπωμένη (translation: circumflex) seems to mean 'bent around, altered.'
The Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus described the tone as 'a modification of the musical voice, by elevation in the acute, by leveling in the grave, by breaking in the circumflex.'
So, what was the circumflex in the ancient Greek language, and how did they use it?
In ancient Greek writing systems, they had three main diacritics or accent marks: the acute, the grave, and the circumflex. In most dialogues or papers published by scholars (For instance: Plato's Cratylus), these three accent marks are the most common.
Diacritics or accent marks have a history spanning thousands of years. A Greek grammarian and a pupil of Aristarchus of Samothrace, Dionysius Thrax is alleged to have written the Art Of Grammar or Téchnē grammatikē. A book dedicated to grammar. The book contains everything from syllables, tone, accent marks, and punctuation in ancient Greek.
It's in this book that the Greek scholar mentions the circumflex as one of the three primary diacritics or accent marks in the Greek writing system.
In ancient Greek, the circumflex was written only over a long vowel or diphthong. In music, the circumflex is usually set to a melisma of two notes, the first higher than the second. The Greeks used music to describe and understand accent marks.
Some Greek scholars referred to the acute accent using a thin instrument because of its high pitch and referred to the grave accent using a thick instrument because of its low pitch.
Dionysius Thrax's definition of a tone, allows us to understand the circumflex. As shared earlier, he states in the book, the Art of Grammar: 'Tone is heightened in the acute, balanced in the grave, and broken in the circumflex'. What does that mean?
It means that the circumflex accent was a blend of the high and low pitch in a single syllable. The ancient Greeks also described the circumflex accent as δίτονος dítonos meaning 'two-toned'.
What about the Romans? How did they understand the circumflex accent in Latin?
Greek affected Latin even after the fall of Greece to the Romans. Not only that but the two cultures interacted for years, allowing scholars to learn from each other.
The circumflex in Latin inscriptions are v-shaped (◌̂), while the Greek circumflex may be displayed either like a tilde (◌̃) or like an inverted breve (◌̂). Tilde and breve are other types of accent marks.
You may not see them in English dictionaries, but they are one of the most common diacritics worldwide.
The Romans had specific rules for the Latin circumflex accent. It was also one of the three accents they used in writing and spoken language. The Greeks and the Romans had interconnecting cultures due to their political and economic interactions.
Eventually, the Romans conquered the Greeks, and the Greeks had a massive influence on Roman culture. Most especially, Latin. So what were the rules for the Latin circumflex accent?
Here are some of the Roman rules for a Latin circumflex:
Many philologists credit Aristophanes of Byzantium with the creation of not only the circumflex but the acute and grave in the Greek writing system.
What makes history so enlightening is the fact that we still use these accent marks today. It may not be in English, but other languages utilize the circumflex accent in their daily written and spoken word.
An interesting fact is that 18th-century English used the circumflex accent. Due to the paper tax, they had to shorten words, and what better way to do that than by using accent marks?
-ough was occasionally shortened to 'ô' when the 'gh' was unnecessary during pronunciation to save space on paper. For instance: thô for though, thorô for thorough, and brôt for brought.
So which modern languages use the circumflex?
Currently, English does not use the circumflex accent. But several languages utilize it. Here are some of the languages that use the circumflex accent and how they use it.
In Afrikaans, the circumflex sits on top of any vowel that has an unusual pronunciation. It does not dictate a similar sound change in every instance. For instance: sê 'to say', wêreld 'world', môre 'tomorrow', brûe 'bridges'.
The circumflex (accent circumflex) aka 'little hat,' is the only French accent mark you can find on each of the five vowels. Here are the three main functions of the circumflex in French:
une forêt (French) - forestis (Latin) - forest (English translation)
un hôpital(French) - hospitalis(Latin) - hospital (English translation)
une acre (an acre) - âcre (acrid)
du (some) - dû (the past participle of the verb: devoir)
The Circumflex Accent In Portugese
In Portuguese, the â, ê, and ô with the circumflex accent indicate stressed "closed" vowels. As opposed to their open counterparts á, é, and ó with the acute accent.
In Welsh, the circumflex accent is known as a 'to bach' (little roof) or sometimes 'acen grom' (bent/curved accent), or 'hirnod' (long mark). The circumflex in Welsh indicates that the stressed syllable would otherwise be short would be a long syllable.
It mainly occurs when the singular ends in an 'a'. For instance:
The Circumflex Accent In Romanian
In Romanian, the circumflex is used on the vowels â and î to indicate the vowel /ɨ/.
Several languages utilize the circumflex. Here are some of them:
The Greeks used the circumflex to indicate tone during speech and writing. But as languages evolved with time, so did the use of accent marks in writing systems and the spoken language. Here are some of the general uses of the circumflex accent:
You may notice that some of the uses do not apply to the English language. However, as shared earlier, the circumflex isn't native to English. Instead, you will find the circumflex in other subjects closely related to English such as math.
In an interesting turn of events, you might've used the circumflex in primary or middle school math. As shared earlier, accent marks still play a part in modern languages. One impact is the use of the Greek alphabet in math. But did you know that the circumflex also plays a mathematical role?
The circumflex is a symbol used to represent a number to the power of another number. The symbol of circumflex is ^. This symbol is also referred to as a Hat or Caret.
In math, the circumflex is a symbol and not a linguistic stress mark.
The circumflex was a staple in ancient Greek. It has evolved to perform different functions in languages, mathematics, and programming. Today, the circumflex is one of the most used accent marks in the world.
You can also add the circumflex accent to your documents by using our tool above to make and copy it. It's fast, convenient, and efficient for users across different languages.