Hyphenation ofmeter-kilogram-second

Linguistic Analysis of "meter-kilogram-second" (US English)

1. Pronunciation Examination:

The word "meter-kilogram-second" is a compound noun consisting of three distinct units, each with its own established pronunciation. The overall pronunciation follows typical English stress patterns for compound words.

2. Syllable Division:

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

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• meter: Prefix: meter- (Greek metron meaning "measure"). Morphological function: indicates a unit of measurement.
• kilogram: Prefix: kilo- (Greek khilioi meaning "thousand"). Root: gram (Greek gramma meaning "weight"). Morphological function: indicates a multiple of a base unit of weight.
• second: Root: second (Latin secundus meaning "following"). Morphological function: unit of time.

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the first syllable of each component: mé-ter, kí-lo-gram, sé-cond. The overall compound stress is on the first element, 'meter'.

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ˈmiːtər ˈkɪloʊˌɡræm ˈsɛkənd/

6. Edge Case Review:

Compound words can sometimes exhibit variations in stress depending on the context and emphasis. However, the given stress pattern is the most common and standard pronunciation.

7. Grammatical Role:

The word functions as a noun phrase, representing a set of base units in the International System of Units (SI). Syllabification and stress remain consistent regardless of its grammatical role within a larger sentence.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: A combination of units used to define physical quantities, specifically length (meter), mass (kilogram), and time (second).
• Grammatical Category: Noun phrase
• Synonyms: SI units, fundamental units
• Antonyms: (None directly applicable)
• Examples: "The experiment was conducted using meter-kilogram-second units." "All calculations were based on the meter-kilogram-second system."

9. Phonological Comparison:

• thermometer: ther-mo-me-ter (4 syllables, stress on 'mo'). Similar syllable structure with prefixes and suffixes.
• kilometer: ki-lo-me-ter (4 syllables, stress on 'ki'). Shares the 'kilo-' prefix and similar vowel sounds.
• microsecond: mi-cro-se-cond (4 syllables, stress on 'mi' and 'se'). Similar structure with prefixes and compound elements.

The differences in syllable division arise from the varying lengths and complexities of the root words and the presence of different prefixes. The stress patterns are consistent with English's tendency to stress the first syllable of compound elements.

Detailed Syllable Analysis:

Division Rules Applied:

• Vowel-Consonant (VC): Syllables typically divide after a vowel followed by a consonant (e.g., kí-lo).
• Vowel-Consonant-Silent e (VCe): Syllables divide before a silent 'e' at the end of a word (e.g., mé-ter).
• Consonant-Vowel (CV): Syllables divide before a vowel following a consonant (e.g., sé-cond).
• Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC): Syllables divide between the vowels when a word has a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern (e.g., gram, cond).

Special Considerations:

The compound nature of the word requires treating each component separately for syllabification. The overall stress pattern prioritizes the first element ('meter').

Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

While the provided pronunciation is standard US English, some regional variations might exist in vowel sounds or stress intensity. However, the core syllabification remains consistent.