foreignspeaking
The word 'foreign-speaking' is syllabified as for-eign-speak-ing, with primary stress on the first syllable. It's a compound adjective formed from Latin and Old English roots, following standard English syllabification rules for vowels, consonants, and compound words.
Definitions
- 1
Able to speak or speaking a language other than one's native language.
“She is a foreign-speaking student at the university.”
“The company needs foreign-speaking representatives.”
Stress pattern
Primary stress falls on the first syllable ('for'), and secondary stress on the third syllable ('speak'). The second and fourth syllables are unstressed.
Syllables
for — Open syllable, stressed.. eign — Closed syllable, unstressed.. speak — Open syllable, secondary stress.. ing — Closed syllable, unstressed.
Word Parts
foreign-
From Old French 'forein', ultimately from Latin 'externus' meaning 'external, outward'. Adjective forming element.
speak
From Old English 'sprecan', Proto-Germanic 'sprekaną' meaning 'to utter, to talk'. Verb root.
-ing
From Old English '-ing', Proto-Germanic '-ingaz'. Progressive aspect marker/gerund/present participle.
Vowel-Consonant Rule
Syllables are often divided after vowels (for-eign).
Consonant Cluster Rule
Consonant clusters are generally kept together within a syllable (speak-ing).
Compound Word Rule
Compound words are divided between the constituent words (foreign-speaking).
- The vowel /ɔː/ in 'foreign' can sometimes be reduced to /ɔ/ in faster speech, but this doesn't affect the syllabification.
Nearby Words
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