Hyphenation ofself-sufficientness

Analysis of "self-sufficientness"

1. Pronunciation: The word is pronounced as /ˌselfsəˈfɪʃəntnəs/ in General American English.

2. Syllable Division: self-suf-fi-cient-ness

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: self- (Old English) - reflexive pronoun, indicating the action is performed by the subject.
• Root: sufficient (Latin sufficiens - "enough") - meaning adequate or capable.
• Suffix: -ness (Old English) - forms a noun denoting a state or quality.

4. Stress Identification: The primary stress falls on the third syllable, "cient".

5. Phonetic Transcription: /ˌselfsəˈfɪʃəntnəs/

6. Edge Case Review: The sequence "ficient" is a common pattern, and the "nt" cluster is readily accepted within a syllable. The schwa sound /ə/ is common in unstressed syllables.

7. Grammatical Role: The word functions solely as a noun. There are no shifts in syllabification or stress based on part of speech.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: The state or quality of being able to provide for one's own needs without help from others.
• Grammatical Category: Noun
• Synonyms: independence, self-reliance, autonomy
• Antonyms: dependence, reliance
• Examples: "Her self-sufficientness allowed her to live comfortably alone." "He admired her self-sufficientness and resourcefulness."

9. Phonological Comparison:

• Independence: in-de-pen-dence - Similar syllable structure, with a stress on the third syllable. The "pen" syllable is comparable to "ficient" in terms of consonant clusters.
• Sufficiency: suf-fi-cien-cy - Shares the root "sufficient" and exhibits a similar stress pattern. The final "-cy" suffix is comparable to "-ness".
• Competence: com-pe-tence - Similar syllable count and stress pattern. The "com" prefix is different, but the overall structure is comparable.

Detailed Syllable Breakdown:

Syllable Division Rules Applied:

1. Onset-Rime Division: Syllables are divided based on the onset (initial consonant sound(s)) and the rime (vowel and any following consonants).
2. Vowel Nucleus: Each syllable must contain a vowel sound, which serves as the nucleus.
3. Stress Assignment: Primary stress is assigned based on lexical rules and morphological structure. In this case, it falls on the third syllable.

Special Considerations:

• The word contains multiple morphemes, which influence the syllable division.
• The schwa sound /ə/ is common in unstressed syllables, affecting the pronunciation but not the orthographic syllable division.
• The "nt" consonant cluster is permissible within a syllable in English.

Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

While the provided IPA transcription represents General American English, some regional variations might exist in vowel quality or stress placement, but these variations would not significantly alter the syllable division.