A question that may make you smile

[Elizabeth Spreng]

 Hello,
Last night I received an email from a student that included a indirect question from a colleague that I was being asked to answer. I really did not know how to to begin to answer this question (and perhaps I do not understand the question itself), so I thought I would ask for some help. Here goes

How many accents/modifiers are there? 



I believe they are asking about written accents ( but they were not asking about IPA notation) used in all of the languages currently considered viable. "They" said the question came up in a discussion of emic/etic differences, but I have been unable to get any more information of what they are desiring for an answer or why they asked such a question. Although something (well maybe more than one thing) irks me about this question from a philosophical perspective, I told them that I would see if I could obtain an answer. 

 All best, 

Elizabeth Spreng, PhD
Assistant Professor
Kansas State University