Caron

A caron (/ˈkærən/ KARR‑ən) or háček (/ˈhɑːtʃɛk, ˈhætʃɛk, ˈheɪtʃɛk/ HAH‑chek, HATCH‑ek, HAY‑chek, plural háčeks or háčky) is a special mark (◌̌) placed over certain letters in some languages. It helps change how a letter is pronounced. People who design typefaces usually call it a "caron," while language experts often use the Czech word háček.

This symbol is used in many language families, including Baltic, Slavic, Finnic, Samic, and Berber languages. In most Slavic and European languages, it shows changes like softening a sound or making a new pronunciation. For example, it can change the letter c to sound like č. In some languages like Salishan, it represents special sounds made in the back of the mouth. It can also show tones in Mandarin Chinese when used with vowels.

The caron looks a bit like a tiny letter "v." In printed text with serifs, it can appear in two ways: either symmetrical like an upside-down circumflex, or with one side thicker, like a normal "v" without serifs. Czech designers often prefer the thicker-sided version for their language, while the symmetrical form is more common in other uses and in typefaces without serifs. It is different from another mark called the breve, which is curved instead of angled.

Names

People in different fields call this special mark different names. In printing and design, they usually call it a caron. But language experts, especially those who study sounds, often use the Czech word háček.

The name caron is used in special computer codes for letters, like "LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CARON". We do not know exactly why this name was chosen, but it started being used in official books in the United States in 1967 and later in many computer standards. Some think the word might come from mixing two older words, but we are not sure.

The word háček first appeared in English books in 1953. In Czech, it means a small hook. Different languages have their own names for this mark too. For example, in Slovak it is called mäkčeň, meaning "softener". In Croatian it is called kvaka or kvačica, meaning "angled hook". Many other languages also have special names for this mark.

Origin

The caron started as a small dot above letters, a mark that Jan Hus added to Czech writing in 1412. Though his ideas weren’t well-known back then, the caron became popular much later when printing was invented in the 1500s. You can still see an early version of it in Polish, on the letter ż.

Usage

The caron is a small mark placed above certain letters to change how they sound. It is used in many languages. Typographers call it a caron, while linguists often use the Czech word háček.

The symbol is common in several language families, including Baltic, Slavic, Finnic, Samic, and Berber languages. It helps indicate special sounds that the regular letters cannot show clearly.

Letters with caron

Unicode has special symbols for letters with a caron mark above them, shown as precomposed characters. Many more symbols can be made by adding the caron mark to any letter using a special tool called the combining character. This lets you create custom symbols, but they might not be used in real life.

Some Cyrillic letters also use the caron mark, but they don’t have special symbols. Instead, you need to use the combining character method. These letters are: В̌ в̌; Ǯ ǯ; Г̌ г̌; Ғ̌ ғ̌; Д̌ д̌; З̌ з̌; Р̌ р̌; Т̌ т̌; Х̌ х̌

Software

Unicode

Unicode includes special symbols called carons that can be placed over letters to change how they sound. Most letters with carons are already built into Unicode, but you can also add a caron to any letter using a special symbol called the combining caron.

Some common letters with carons, like Č and č, are part of the Latin Extended-A set because they are used in Czech and other European languages. Other caron symbols are found in the Latin Extended-B set, which can sometimes look different. Unicode also has symbols for carons placed below letters and double carons.