Hyphenation ofantidiscrimination

Linguistic Analysis of "antidiscrimination"

1. Examination & Pronunciation:

The word "antidiscrimination" is a complex noun in US English, formed through multiple morphemes. Its pronunciation involves a blend of vowel and consonant sounds, with potential variation in stress placement depending on speaking rate and emphasis.

2. Syllable Division:

The syllable division, adhering to the rule of maximizing onsets (consonant clusters at the beginning of a syllable) and avoiding stranded consonants, is as follows: an-ti-dis-crim-i-na-tion.

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: anti- (Greek origin, meaning "against" or "opposed to"). Morphological function: negation.
• Root: disc- (Latin dis- meaning "apart" or "not"). This is part of the root discriminate.
• Root: crim- (Latin crimen meaning "accusation, crime"). This is part of the root discriminate.
• Suffix: -i- (connecting vowel, Latin origin, used to connect root and suffix)
• Suffix: -na- (Latin origin, forming adjectives or nouns relating to a quality or condition)
• Suffix: -tion (Latin origin, forming nouns from verbs). Morphological function: nominalization.

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the fifth syllable: na. The stress pattern is often described as tertiary stress on the first syllable, secondary stress on the third syllable, and primary stress on the fifth syllable.

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ˌæn.ti.dɪs.krɪm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/

6. Edge Case Review:

The word's length and complex morphology present a challenge for syllabification. The cluster /krɪm/ is a common but potentially ambiguous point. The vowel /i/ before /na/ is often reduced to a schwa in rapid speech.

7. Grammatical Role:

"Antidiscrimination" primarily functions as a noun. While it could theoretically be used attributively (e.g., "antidiscrimination laws"), the syllabification and stress remain consistent.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: Opposition to or prevention of discrimination.
• Grammatical Category: Noun
• Synonyms: non-discrimination, equality, fairness
• Antonyms: discrimination, prejudice, bias
• Examples: "The company has a strong antidiscrimination policy." "Antidiscrimination laws protect employees from unfair treatment."

9. Phonological Comparison:

• discrimination: dis-crim-i-na-tion. Similar structure, stress on na.
• administration: ad-min-i-stra-tion. Similar suffix -tion, stress on stra.
• communication: com-mu-ni-ca-tion. Similar suffix -tion, stress on ca.

The consistent stress on the penultimate syllable before -tion highlights a common pattern in English nominalizations. The differences in initial syllable structure reflect the different prefixes and roots.

Detailed Syllable Analysis:

Exceptions/Special Cases (Word-Level):

The length of the word and the presence of multiple morphemes make it prone to mispronunciation or simplification. The /i/ before /na/ is often reduced.

Division Rules:

1. Maximize Onsets: Consonant clusters are generally kept together at the beginning of a syllable.
2. Avoid Stranded Consonants: Consonants are not left at the end of a syllable unless they are part of a consonant cluster.
3. Vowel-Consonant-Vowel (VCV): Syllables are often divided between vowels.