How important are accents in written Spanish?

Question

English

I notice that native Spanish speakers often leave off accents in writing. Outside the context of edited material, it almost seems like accent pedantry is the sign of someone who has learned Spanish as a second language or has their spell-checker properly configured.

Do native Spanish speakers appreciate properly-placed accents in writing or does it not much matter? (Which is to say, should I spend my time looking up accents or am I wasting my time?)

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Español

Me doy cuenta de que los hablantes nativos de español a menudo se dejan los acentos al escribir. Fuera del contexto de material editado, casi parece que la pedantería para poner acentos es el signo de uno que ha aprendido español como segundo idioma o tiene su corrector ortográfico configurado correctamente.

¿Aprecian los hablantes nativos de español los acentos correctamente colocados al escribir o no importa mucho? (Quiero decir, ¿debería emplear tiempo buscando acentos o estoy perdiendo el tiempo?

Answer 1

Accents are important anywhere you want to use formal language, look professional, etc. Places where using "correct" Spanish is important. Writing an article for publication, a letter to a superior, in exams.

Despite what other people say in their answers, leaving out accents doesn't result in sore eyes, confused readers, hard to read text. If you're writing to somebody who you know likes everything proper you should expect this to irritate them. Generally people that don't like slang also won't like omitted accents.

I would compare it exactly to writing English in all lower case and omitting apostrophes.

Almost all of my friends from Spanish speaking countries never use accents when writing on the Internet, in emails, Facebook, instant messaging, SMS.

It's a matter of style. When you want to be formal, stick to the official orthography, with all the accents, punctuation, and capitalization used as the RAE advises. If you don't you will be interpreted as at least lazy and unprofessional, but perhaps worse.

If you are a young person chatting via keyboard to other young people, you don't have to be formal, just like in English. Your friends might even find it a bit stilted if you're too formal.

In fact in instant messaging and SMS I find my Spanish speaking friends go much further and use lots of special slang spellings I don't know at all - just like people do in English.

It's probably a good idea to be consistent though. It will be less pleasant for some people to read if you phase in and out of accent usage in a single piece of writing. In this case it will seem a lot more like spelling mistakes like mixing up "to" and "too" or "their" and "there" and "they're" in English. Context will show which word you mean but your wrong spellings will throw the reader off.

I do note however that when Spanish is written in all capitals that the accents will fairly often be omitted even in places where you might expect more formality and even though the RAE says the accents should always be used even in all capitals.

In short: You might make a faux pas if you leave them out, but you'll never make a faux pas if you put them in. ^{Other than the cool kids sometimes thinking you're not cool (-;}

Answer 2

In my opinion the accents are very important to ease the readability of your text. Because Spanish is a inflectional language, we make from a single root many words (e.g. verbal conjugation) whose only difference is which syllable has the stress:

El camino (the road)

Él caminó (he walked)

Yo camino (I walk)

And also, we have the diacritic accent (éste vs este).

Answer 3

You should absolutely use them - it's not a matter of pedantry. Otherwise you'll be forcing people to correct intonation in their minds - making any lengthy enough text a headache.

Answer 4

Accents are essential when there is a possibility of confusion.

The Real Academia Española recognizes that there are occasions when accents may be omitted. The words éste or aquél, for example, don't require an accent when there is no risk of confusing the word with the adjective.

By comparison, o should have an accent when it comes between numerals, in order to help distinguish it from the number zero: 5 ó 6. (Note: this "rule" very recently changed so that o does not require the accent.)

My general rule: they are often not required, but always a good idea.

Answer 5

You definitely should. An accent can really make a difference when trying to understand a text. We, native speakers, can usually fully understand something without any accent, but it's much easier to read with them.

Also, to write spanish as the RAE says, you have to use them.

Answer 6

To a true Mexican, a properly placed accent shows respect for the purity of the written language as the accent is most often used in proper names and I am sure that you yourself would not much appreciate a mispronunciation of your name. For example, the letter "i" in my name is not dotted, it carries an accent over the i and I always make use of the accent when using my signature. In English, a 3 syllable word usually carries the accent over the first syllable, but in Mexican Spanish, the accent is usually over the 2nd syllable in a 3 syllable name and over the 1st in a 2 syllable name. So YES, it is a way of showing respect for one's heritage and is extremely important for a purist of the correct pronunciation of one's name.

Answer 7

Yes. A lot of people appreciate it. Sometimes, if writing a quick message or SMS they are left off. There is not accent pedantry, most times they are useful and help the reader to go through your text faster.

Answer 8

Although it is possible to understand a text without accents, it would hurt your eyes.

In addition to this, some words change their meaning if you miss one accent (más/mas, él/el, té/te...).

Answer 9

It's not thaaaat important, people would still understand what you're trying to write if you miss some accents.

However, if you miss one, it will look like a stain in the paper.

Of course there are some words that DO NEED the accent because it changes the complete meaning of the word.. like "mas" and "más" or "él" and "el"

Answer 10

In my posts I use the native American translation of my Mexican name, the reason being I am also Native American as well. My name in Mexican is Garcia with an accent over the "i", I always use the traditional form with the accent over the "i" in all my signatures including my payroll signature and on my driver's license. My family name as it was passed down from the Spanish conquistadores was "de Garcia" however in modern times, the prefix "de" has since been dropped. Here on the Tex/Mex border we are proud of our heritage and continue to speak Mexican fluently on a daily basis throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Those who do not speak Mexican are at a disadvantage as many people here do not speak English well or do not speak English at all.

Answer 11

As a native speaker, I would say you should try to write them everywhere, unless you are in a particular situation when writing with perfect orthography is difficult or impossible (e.g., writing an urgent sms). In general I have found that many spanish native speakers find annoying reading spanish text without correct accents.