Hyphenation ofhemidemisemiquaver

Linguistic Analysis of "hemidemisemiquaver"

1. Examination & Pronunciation:

The word "hemidemisemiquaver" is a highly technical term relating to musical notation. Its pronunciation in US English is complex due to its length and multiple morphemes. It's generally pronounced with stress on the penultimate syllable.

2. Syllable Division:

Following US English syllabification rules, the word breaks down as follows (using only original letters):

he-mi-de-mi-se-mi-qua-ver

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• hemi-: Prefix (Greek origin, meaning "half"). Morphological function: indicates a fractional quantity.
• demi-: Prefix (French/Latin origin, meaning "half"). Morphological function: reinforces the fractional quantity.
• semi-: Prefix (Latin origin, meaning "half"). Morphological function: further reinforces the fractional quantity.
• quaver: Root (Latin quaver, meaning "to tremble, shake"). Morphological function: refers to a type of musical note.

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the second-to-last syllable: he-mi-de-mi-se-mi-qua-ver.

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ˌhemiˌdemiˌsemiˈkweɪvər/

6. Edge Case Review:

This word is an exception in terms of its length and the stacking of prefixes. The repeated "semi-" prefixes are unusual and contribute to the complexity. Syllabification is relatively straightforward given the vowel-consonant patterns.

7. Grammatical Role:

"Hemidemisemiquaver" functions solely as a noun. Its morphological structure doesn't allow for inflection or changes in stress based on grammatical function.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: A musical note equal to one sixty-fourth of a whole note.
• Grammatical Category: Noun
• Synonyms: Sixty-fourth note
• Antonyms: Whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note, thirty-second note
• Examples: "The composer used a hemidemisemiquaver to create a particularly rapid passage."

9. Phonological Comparison:

• "hyperbola": hy-per-bo-la. Similar in having multiple syllables and vowel-consonant alternation. Stress is on the second syllable.
• "photography": pho-to-gra-phy. Similar in having multiple syllables and a Greek-derived root. Stress is on the third syllable.
• "mathematics": ma-the-ma-tics. Similar in length and complexity, with multiple syllables. Stress is on the second syllable.

The key difference is the stacking of prefixes in "hemidemisemiquaver," which is less common in the other words. The syllable structure (primarily CV) is consistent across all examples.

Detailed Syllable Analysis:

Division Rules Applied:

1. Vowel-Consonant Division: Syllables are typically divided after a vowel when followed by a consonant.
2. Diphthong-Consonant Division: Syllables are divided after a diphthong when followed by a consonant.
3. Consonant Blend-Vowel Division: Syllables are divided after a consonant blend when followed by a vowel.

Special Considerations:

• The repeated prefixes create a somewhat unusual morphological structure.
• The final syllable contains a reduced vowel (schwa), common in unstressed syllables.
• Regional variations in pronunciation might slightly alter the vowel qualities, but the syllable division would likely remain the same.

Short Analysis:

"Hemidemisemiquaver" is a complex noun of Greek and Latin origin, denoting a small musical note. It is syllabified as he-mi-de-mi-se-mi-qua-ver, with primary stress on the penultimate syllable. The word's structure is characterized by stacked prefixes and a relatively straightforward vowel-consonant syllable division pattern, though the final syllable contains a schwa.