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Eñe_on_keyboard_-_grey.jpg
Ñ or enye, (Spanish eñe) represents a palatal nasal (Template:IPA2). This is reminiscent of as in "onion" Template:IPA2. It is the fifteenth letter of the Spanish alphabet, alphabetized between N and O. Though English keyboard schemes classify it as an N with a tilde, it is a separate letter in the Spanish language.
Historically, ñ represented two N's, written as an N with a smaller N, the tilde ~, over it. For example, the Spanish word año (year) is derived from Latin ANNVS.
Being a typically Spanish letter, it is sometimes used as a symbol of the Spanish language. For example, the Instituto Cervantes has incorporated the letter into its logo.
In Spanish and some other languages (for example Aymara, Quechua, Tagalog, Basque, Galician) whose orthographies were created under Spanish influence, it represents a voiced palatal nasal. It may also roughly be represented or pronounced as ny, e.g. piñata → pinyata. Other Romance languages have this sound as well, expressed by nh in Portuguese, ny in Catalan (considered a single letter, called enya), and gn (like lasagna and cognac) in Italian and French, respectively.
It is used in a number of English words of Spanish origin, such as jalapeño, piña colada, and piñata, though these are often spelled in English with an n instead, due to the absence of the ñ from the English alphabet. The Spanish word cañón, however, became the English word canyon. Many people from Spanish-speaking countries who have emigrated to English-speaking countries, such as Carlos Castaneda, have also anglicized their names by changing ñ into n. Until the middle of the 20th century, nn was more common in English, as in the "Battle of Corunna".
The letter Ñ is also used when writing the Tatar language in Latin script or Crimean Tatar language for ng sound.
See also
| Latin alphabet: | Aa | Bb | Cc | Dd | Ee | Ff | Gg | Hh | Ii | Jj | Kk | Ll | Mm | Nn | Oo | Pp | Qq | Rr | Ss | Tt | Uu | Vv | Ww | Xx | Yy | Zz |
|---|---|
| Modified characters: |
Àà | Áá | Ââ | Ää | Åå | Āā | Ąą | Çç | Ĉĉ | Čč | Ćć | Đđ | Ęę | Ëë | Ĝĝ | Ğğ | Ĥĥ | Įį | Ïï | İı | Ĵĵ | Łł | Ññ | Õõ | Öö | Őő | Øø | Ǫǫ | Şş | Șș | Šš | Ŝŝ | Țț | Ŭŭ | Üü | Ųų | Ůů | Űű | Žž |
| Alphabet extensions: | Ææ | Ðð | DZdz | DŽdž | Əə | Ȝȝ | Ƕƕ | ĸ | LJlj | LLll | NJnj | Ŋŋ | Œœ | Ȣȣ | [[Half r|]] | ſ | ß | Þþ | Ƿƿ | IJij |