Hyphenation ofroot-mean-square

Linguistic Analysis of "root-mean-square" (English (GB))

1. Pronunciation:

The word "root-mean-square" is pronounced as /ruːt miːn skweə/ in General British English.

2. Syllable Division:

The syllable division, adhering to the rule of using only the original letters, is: root-mean-square

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• root: (value: root, additional: Old English rōt, denoting the origin or base of something. Morphological function: Noun, base element.)
• mean: (value: mean, additional: Middle English mene, meaning average. Morphological function: Adjective, modifying 'square'.)
• square: (value: square, additional: Old French esquire, meaning a measuring tool. Morphological function: Noun, the object being described.)

This is a compound noun, formed by concatenating three lexical items.

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the first syllable: root. The secondary stress falls on 'mean'.

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ruːt miːn skweə/

6. Syllable Breakdown & Rule Application:

• root: /ruːt/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by consonant(s). No exceptions.
• mean: /miːn/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by consonant(s) at the end of the syllable. No exceptions.
• square: /skweə/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Consonant cluster followed by vowel. The 'squ' cluster is permissible as an initial consonant cluster in English. No exceptions.

7. Edge Case Review:

The compound nature of the word is the primary consideration. Syllabification follows the individual word components rather than attempting to create a single, unified syllabic structure.

8. Grammatical Role:

"Root-mean-square" functions solely as a noun (specifically, a compound noun). There are no shifts in syllabification or stress based on grammatical function.

9. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: A statistical measure of the magnitude of a varying quantity, especially in a set of numbers. It is calculated as the square root of the arithmetic mean of the squares of the numbers.
• Grammatical Category: Noun
• Synonyms: Effective value, quadratic mean
• Antonyms: None directly applicable.
• Examples:
  • "The root-mean-square voltage was measured to be 230 volts."
  • "The root-mean-square error provides a good indication of the model's accuracy."

10. Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

American English pronunciation may differ slightly, with a more reduced vowel in 'square' (/skwɛr/). This doesn't significantly alter the syllable division.

11. Phonological Comparison:

• blackboard: black-board (/blæk bɔːd/) - Similar structure (compound noun, two stressed syllables).
• sunflower: sun-flow-er (/sʌn ˈflaʊə/) - Similar structure (compound noun, multiple syllables).
• bedroom: bed-room (/ˈbedruːm/) - Similar structure (compound noun, two syllables).

The syllable division in "root-mean-square" is consistent with these examples, following the principle of dividing at morpheme boundaries where possible and adhering to vowel-consonant patterns. The stress pattern is also comparable, with the first element receiving primary stress.