If “naive” is a French word, why is it often spelled with the umlout (sp?), a German “accent” symbol, often placed over the “i”? Is this just because we are ignorant Americans famous for slaughtering foreign words??? - Jinx
It’s actually a diaeresis, which is a mark that looks just like an umlaut but is used differently.
From http://www.m-w.com/:
I once upset a Zoë for telling her that as her name was Greek she couldn’t claim to have an umlaut, but, she did have a cute little diaeresis to make up for it.
Bizarrely, she stormed off in a huff. This was a shame, I thought she was höt.