Overview
ISO 3098-4:2000 - part of the ISO 3098 series - defines diacritical and particular marks for the Latin alphabet used in technical product documentation and lettering. Published as the second edition in 2000, this part specifies which diacritics and special marks accompany the characters defined in ISO 3098-2, and lists their preferred dimensions and positions for a range of languages. The standard supports consistent, legible lettering in technical drawings, product documentation and CAD outputs.
Key topics and requirements
- Scope and purpose: Specifies diacritical and particular marks to be used with Latin characters from ISO 3098-2; marks are treated as characters in their own right.
- Normative references: Relies on ISO 3098-0 for general lettering requirements and on ISO 639 for language codes.
- Tables of marks: Tables 1 and 2 map diacritics and particular marks to specific languages, showing dimensions and positions for both Lettering A and Lettering B and for sloping and vertical lettering styles.
- Legibility rules: General requirements (from ISO 3098-0) apply, including formation of strokes that meet or cross at approximate right angles to maintain constant line density and avoid blotting at intersections.
- Practical specification: Dimensions and typical positions for accents and special marks are provided so that lettering is uniform across international technical documentation.
Applications and who uses it
ISO 3098-4 is useful for professionals and organizations that produce precise, multilingual technical documentation where lettering clarity matters:
- Technical drafters and CAD operators providing engineering drawings and schematics
- Technical illustrators, documentation specialists and product designers
- Quality and documentation controllers in manufacturing and engineering
- Standards committees and technical authors preparing international drawings, labels and part markings
- Localization teams ensuring correct diacritics across languages in product documentation
Practical uses include establishing lettering templates, configuring CAD lettering libraries, preparing multilingual drawings, and ensuring compliance with international documentation practices.
Related standards
- ISO 3098-0 - General requirements for lettering (normative reference)
- ISO 3098-2 - Latin alphabet, numerals and marks (characters used with this part)
- Other parts of the series: ISO 3098-1 (Part 0 renumbering planned), Part 3 (Greek), Part 5 (CAD lettering), Part 6 (Cyrillic)
- ISO 639 - Language codes used to identify languages in the tables
Keywords: ISO 3098-4, technical product documentation, lettering standard, diacritical marks, Latin alphabet, CAD lettering, international technical drawings.
Open preview (PDF)Technical product documentation — Lettering — Part 4: Diacritical and particular marks for the Latin alphabet