Adobe PS: dotaccent, periodcentered, dotbelowcomb
Unicode: 02D9, 00B7, 0307, 0323
Languages: Catalan, Irish, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Turkish, Vietnamese, Yoruba
Dot Accent
History and examples of use
Dot above a character (with the exception of the dot above lower case i) is used in Polish with ż, in Lithuanian with e, in Maltese with ċ, ġ and ż. The dot accent is occasionally used in Irish to denote lenition of the consonants ḃ, ċ, ḋ, ḟ, ġ, ṁ, ṗ, ṡ and ṫ. In Catalan, the dot accent could be found in between two l characters. Turkish distinguishes i/İ and ı/I with the dot accent and without it.
The dot below (or dấu nặng) is used in Vietnamese to specify a low, steep, glottal tone; it's also used on letters in Semitic transliteration to indicate pharyngealization.
Notes
In Polish, in handwritten or decorative script, it is permitted to use ż with a stroke <ƶ> instead of a ż character with the dot accent.
Design
The dot symbol (=overdot) should be placed and shaped the same as the dot above i, and it should always be visually centered. The dot with caps may either be the same as the one with lower case, or it may be scaled down accordingly to the other accents. Vertically, it should be leveled with the upper edge, to the centre, or to the lower edge of the acute.
In Catalan, the punt volat (literally, “flown dot”) is used between two l’s (thus: ŀl) in cases where each belongs to a separate syllable. It is placed in between two l characters, approximately in the centre of the body height. Horizontally, such dot should be visually centered in between the two characters, which may prove difficult, especially with some bold serifed faces. Some typefaces contain the Ŀ or ŀ (Ldot, ldot) characters; however, most common is the use of individual dot (periodcentered, Unicode 00B7). Detailed description with examples is to be found via the following links.
The dot below (=underdot) should be situated below the baseline.