Why an accent over the i in Día?
Tengo una pregunta
As I understand it;
The rule is that stress is always on the last syllable unless the word ends in N, S, or a vowel. (Then it's on the second last syllable)
The accent is used when something breaks this rule or when there are two words that mean different things but are spelled the same. (like se and sé)
So why is there an accent over the "I" in día? Google translate says "dia" and "día" both mean "day". And it's not breaking the "NOSE" rule. I don't get it.
5 Answers
Qfreed's answer to that!
I was trying to point out the value of doing a search for like questions, before anyone spent a lot of time retyping the answer.
Repeats are going to happen, I know. But sometimes there are truly great answers already out there - just because a new person doesn't know to look doesn't mean we have to reinvent the wheel each time!
Even if it seems I need the practice ... !
It's to prevent the "i" and "a" in día from being turned into a dipthong, which is what would normally happen. With the accent it's pronounced DEE-ah, two syllables. Without the accent it would be something like DYAH, one syllable
Since the link to the undoubtedly better answer isn't working at the moment, I'll have a go at it.
The vowel combination "ia" is a diphthong, and the strong vowel in the combination is "a." Diphthongs normally are pronounced as a single syllable. To pronounce the "i" separately in the word "día," an accent is added to separate the vowels of the diphthong.
At least I think that's how it works.
When there are two vowels together we have to consider if they are one or two syllables and if they form one syllable, which one of them should have the syllable stress?
There are two types of vowels: Strong vowels: a, e and o Weak vowels: u and I
Rule A When two strong vowels come together they make two separate syllables: eg: tarea, caer, poema, peor
Rule B When two weak vowels come together they make a dipthong (one syllable): (the stress goes on the second vowel) eg: ruido, viuda. Rule C When there is one strong vowel and one weak vowel together they make a diphthong (one syllable) (the syllable stress goes on the strong vowel) eg: idiota, causa, Juan, oigo Note: A strong and a weak vowel together make one syllable so the stress on "lengua" is on the penultimate syllable in accordance with rule 1
Words that break rule B (the stress ought to be on the second vowel) Flúido Words that break rule C (the stress ought to be on the strong vowel) río, vía, oído, grúa
Kevin,
Welcome to the forum and to answer your question with a question..."Why do you dot an "i"?, "Why do you cross a "t", you just do. The stress on the syllable is on the "i" therefore it needs a tilde above it to show the stress there. Hope this helps. 
