Hyphenation ofsmall-mindedness

Analysis of "small-mindedness"

1. Pronunciation: The word "small-mindedness" is pronounced as /smɔlˈmaɪndɪdnəs/ in General American English.

2. Syllable Division: The syllable division, adhering to the rule of maximizing onsets, is: small-mind-ed-ness.

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: small- (Old English smæl, meaning "little"). Function: Degree/size modifier.
• Root: mind (Old English mīnd, Proto-Germanic mindaz, meaning "intellect, thought, memory"). Function: Core meaning relating to intellect.
• Suffix: -ed (Old English -ed, indicating past tense or a participial form). Function: Creates an adjective from the verb "mind".
• Suffix: -ness (Old English -nes, from Proto-Germanic -nass, meaning "state of being"). Function: Forms a noun denoting a state or quality.

4. Stress Identification: The primary stress falls on the second syllable: /ˈmaɪnd/.

5. Phonetic Transcription: /smɔlˈmaɪndɪdnəs/

6. Edge Case Review: The combination of "-ed" and "-ness" is relatively common, and doesn't present a significant syllabification challenge. The vowel reduction in the first syllable (/smɔl/) is typical of unstressed syllables in English.

7. Grammatical Role: "Small-mindedness" functions primarily as a noun. The syllabification remains consistent regardless of grammatical function, as it's a single lexical item.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: The quality of having or showing a narrow or prejudiced outlook; a lack of generosity or understanding.
• Grammatical Category: Noun
• Synonyms: narrow-mindedness, intolerance, bigotry, prejudice, parochialism.
• Antonyms: open-mindedness, tolerance, generosity, understanding.
• Examples: "His small-mindedness prevented him from seeing the other side of the argument." "The community was shocked by the display of small-mindedness."

9. Phonological Comparison:

• kindness: kind-ness. Similar structure (adjective + -ness). Stress on the first syllable.
• happiness: hap-pi-ness. Three syllables, stress on the first. The presence of a double consonant influences the syllable division.
• thoughtfulness: thought-ful-ness. Similar structure (adjective + -ness), but with an intermediate adjective. Stress on the first syllable.

The differences in syllable count and stress placement are due to the varying number of morphemes and the phonetic weight of the root and affixes. "Small-mindedness" has a compound adjective root ("small-minded") before the -ness suffix, influencing the stress pattern.

Detailed Syllable Analysis:

• small: /smɔl/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by consonant(s). Potential exception: The /ɔ/ vowel can be reduced to /ə/ in some dialects.
• mind: /maɪnd/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant cluster. Stress falls on this syllable.
• ed: /ɪd/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant. This is a weak syllable.
• ness: /nəs/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant. This is a weak syllable.

Division Rules Applied:

• Onset Maximization: Attempting to create syllables with the largest possible onsets.
• Vowel-Consonant Division: Dividing between vowel and consonant sounds.
• Stress-Timing: English is a stress-timed language, influencing syllable duration and vowel reduction.

Special Considerations:

• The vowel in "small" can be pronounced differently depending on regional accents.
• The "-ed" suffix can sometimes be pronounced as /t/ or /d/ depending on the preceding sound.
• The word is a compound formation, which can sometimes lead to ambiguity in syllabification.

Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

Some speakers might slightly reduce the vowel in "small" to /ə/, resulting in a pronunciation closer to /sməˈmaɪndɪdnəs/. This doesn't significantly alter the syllable division.

Short Analysis:

"Small-mindedness" is a four-syllable noun with primary stress on the second syllable (/ˈmaɪnd/). It's formed from the prefix "small-", the root "mind", and the suffixes "-ed" and "-ness". Syllabification follows standard English rules of maximizing onsets and dividing between vowel and consonant sounds.