Hyphenation offalse-heartedness

Analysis of "false-heartedness" (English (GB))

1. Pronunciation: The word is pronounced approximately as /fɔːls ˈhɑːtɪdnəs/ in General British English.

2. Syllable Division: fal-se-heart-ed-ness

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: false- (Old English fals, meaning 'deceitful, untrue'). Morphological function: Adjective-forming prefix.
• Root: heart (Old English heorte, Proto-Germanic hertan). Morphological function: Noun, core meaning relating to emotion and feeling.
• Suffix: -ed (Old English -ed). Morphological function: Past tense/past participle marker, but here functions as part of the compound adjective.
• Suffix: -ness (Old English -nes, Proto-Germanic -nass). Morphological function: Noun-forming suffix, denoting a state or quality.

4. Stress Identification: The primary stress falls on the third syllable: heart.

5. Phonetic Transcription: /fɔːls ˈhɑːtɪdnəs/

6. Edge Case Review: The compound adjective "false-hearted" is relatively stable in its syllabification. The "-ed" suffix, while often forming a separate syllable, is tightly bound to "heart" in this case.

7. Grammatical Role: The word functions solely as a noun. There are no syllabification or stress shifts based on part of speech.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: The quality of being without genuine feeling or compassion; deceitfulness.
• Grammatical Category: Noun
• Synonyms: insincerity, hypocrisy, callousness, ruthlessness
• Antonyms: sincerity, compassion, empathy, kindness
• Examples: "His false-hearted promises were easily seen through." "She was shocked by the false-heartedness of her supposed friend."

9. Phonological Comparison:

• happiness: hap-pi-ness. Similar structure with a suffix "-ness". Stress on the second syllable.
• thoughtfulness: thought-ful-ness. Similar structure with a compound adjective and "-ness" suffix. Stress on the first syllable of "thoughtful".
• kindheartedness: kind-heart-ed-ness. Very similar structure, with stress on the second syllable ("heart"). The division of "heart-ed" is consistent across these words.

Syllable Analysis Details:

• fal: /fæl/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant. Potential exception: The vowel /æ/ is relatively uncommon in this position in GB English, but acceptable.
• se: /sə/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant.
• heart: /hɑːt/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant. Primary stress.
• ed: /ɪd/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant.
• ness: /nəs/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant.

Division Rules Applied:

1. Vowel-Consonant (VC): Syllables are often divided after a vowel followed by a consonant (e.g., fal-se, heart-ed).
2. Compound Word Syllabification: Compound words are divided based on the constituent parts (e.g., false-hearted-ness).
3. Suffix Division: Suffixes are generally separated into their own syllables (e.g., -ness).

Special Considerations:

• The pronunciation of /ɔː/ in "false" can vary regionally.
• The tight connection between "heart" and "-ed" in the compound adjective could lead to some speakers perceiving it as a single syllable, but the standard syllabification maintains the morphemic boundaries.

Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations: Some speakers might reduce the vowel in "false" to /ɒ/, affecting the syllable's quality but not its division.