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Underscore

Notation
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A horizontal line (_) used for emphasis in digital text or as a placeholder in poetic drafts.

Detailed Definition
The underscore functions as an emphasis tool in plain-text environments or marks omissions in manuscripts; in visual poetry, it can represent underlining, grounding, or hidden text, exploring themes of concealment or support.
Example
Example in poetry:
Underscores () appear in digital poetry: “void”; In code poetry, underscores join variable names; Some poets use for emphasis in plain text; In fill-in-the-blank verse: “I miss ”; In visual poetry, underscores create lines; In minimalist poetry, “silence_” employs underscore.
Additional Notes
Underscore: The underscore (_) is primarily a digital convention for filenames or markdown; in poetic contexts, it may replace spaces in hashtags or serve as a blank in fill-in-the-blank poems—distinguish from the low line in typographic analysis.
Also Known As
low line underline (in digital contexts) Musical Underscoring
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