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Hyphenation ofsmooth-plastered

Syllable Division & Pronunciation

Syllable Division:

smooth-plas-tered

Phonetic Transcription:(how the word sounds using IPA symbols)

/smuːθ ˈplæstərd/

Stress Pattern:(which syllables are emphasized when speaking)

100 100

Primary stress on the first syllable of 'smooth' and 'plas' in 'plastered'.

Detailed Syllable Breakdown

Syllables are the building blocks of words - each one typically contains a vowel sound

smooth/smuːθ/

Open syllable, diphthong.

plas/plæs/

Open syllable, short vowel.

tered/tərd/

Closed syllable, schwa sound.

Morphemic Breakdown

Morphemes are the smallest meaningful parts of words: prefixes (beginning), roots (core meaning), and suffixes (ending)

(prefix)
+
smooth, plaster(root)
+
-ed(suffix)

Prefix:

Root: smooth, plaster

Old English and Latin origins respectively

Suffix: -ed

English past participle/adjective forming suffix

Meanings & Definitions
adjective(grammatical role in sentences)

Covered or finished with a smooth layer of plaster.

Examples:

"The smooth-plastered walls reflected the light beautifully."

Synonyms: planed, leveled, evened
Antonyms: rough, uneven, textured
Similar Words Comparison

Words with similar syllable patterns or pronunciation features

smoothlysmooth-ly

Similar syllable structure, stress pattern.

fasterfas-ter

Shares the '-ter' ending.

plasticplas-tic

Shares the 'plas' syllable.

Syllable Division Rules

The linguistic principles used to determine where syllables begin and end

Vowel-Consonant-Consonant (VCC)

The vowel carries the syllable weight.

Consonant Blend + Vowel

Consonant clusters followed by a vowel form a syllable.

Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC)

A consonant-vowel-consonant sequence forms a syllable.

Special Considerations

Important exceptions or unusual features in this word's pronunciation or structure

The hyphen is a writing convention, not a phonological division.

Regional variations in vowel pronunciation.

Analysis Summary

Summary:

The word 'smooth-plastered' is a compound adjective divided into three syllables: smooth-plas-tered. Stress falls on the first syllable of each component word. It's formed from Old English and Latin roots with an English suffix.

Detailed Analysis:

Linguistic Analysis of "smooth-plastered" (English - US)

1. Pronunciation Examination:

The word "smooth-plastered" is a compound adjective formed by combining "smooth" and "plastered." Its pronunciation reflects this composition, with a noticeable break between the two base words.

2. Syllable Division:

Following English syllabification rules, the word divides as follows: smooth-plas-tered.

3. Morphemic Analysis:

  • smooth:
    • Root: smōth (Old English) - meaning "free from obstruction, even, level."
    • Morphological Function: Adjective.
  • plastered:
    • Root: plaster (Middle English, from Old French plastre, from Latin plastrare - to mold)
    • Suffix: -ed (English) - past participle/adjective forming suffix.
    • Morphological Function: Past participle used as an adjective.

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the first syllable of "smooth" and the first syllable of "plas" in "plastered". Thus, the stress pattern is: smooth-plas-tered.

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/smuːθ ˈplæstərd/

6. Edge Case Review:

The compound nature of the word is the primary edge case. While hyphenation is common in writing, the pronunciation treats the two parts as relatively independent units.

7. Grammatical Role:

"Smooth-plastered" functions primarily as an adjective. The syllabification and stress remain consistent regardless of its use in a sentence.

8. Definition & Semantics:

  • Definition: Covered or finished with a smooth layer of plaster.
  • Grammatical Category: Adjective
  • Synonyms: Planed, leveled, evened.
  • Antonyms: Rough, uneven, textured.
  • Examples: "The smooth-plastered walls reflected the light beautifully."

9. Phonological Comparison:

  • smoothly: smooth-ly. Similar syllable structure, stress on the first syllable of "smooth."
  • faster: fas-ter. Similar "-ter" ending, but a simpler syllable structure.
  • plastic: plas-tic. Shares the "plas" syllable, demonstrating the common syllabic division for this consonant cluster.

Detailed Syllable Analysis:

  • smooth:
    • IPA: /smuːθ/
    • Description: Open syllable, containing a diphthong.
    • Rule Applied: Vowel-consonant-consonant (VCC) pattern, where the vowel carries the syllable weight.
    • Exceptions/Special Cases: The /θ/ sound can be pronounced differently depending on regional accents.
  • plas:
    • IPA: /plæs/
    • Description: Open syllable, containing a short vowel.
    • Rule Applied: Consonant blend "pl" followed by a vowel.
    • Exceptions/Special Cases: None.
  • tered:
    • IPA: /tərd/
    • Description: Closed syllable, ending in a consonant.
    • Rule Applied: Consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pattern.
    • Exceptions/Special Cases: The schwa sound /ə/ is common in unstressed syllables.

Word-Level Exceptions/Special Cases:

The hyphen in "smooth-plastered" is a writing convention reflecting the compound nature of the word, but doesn't directly impact the phonological syllabification.

Multi-Part-of-Speech Considerations:

The word primarily functions as an adjective. If it were to be used in a more unusual context, the syllabification would not change.

Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

Regional accents might affect the pronunciation of the vowel sounds, but the syllable division would remain consistent.

Analysis generated by gemma3:27b on 6/10/2025

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What is hyphenation

Hyphenation is the process of dividing words across lines in print or on websites. It involves inserting hyphens (-) where a word breaks to continue on the next line.

Proper hyphenation improves readability by reducing the unevenness of word spacing and unnecessary large gaps. It also helps avoid confusion that may occur when part of a word carries over. Ideal hyphenation should break words according to pronunciation and syllables. Most word processors and publishing apps have automated tools to handle hyphenation effectively based on language rules and dictionaries. Though subtle, proper hyphenation improves overall typography and reading comfort.