Hyphenation oftransferableness

Linguistic Analysis of "transferableness"

1. Pronunciation Examination:

The word "transferableness" is pronounced /trænsˈfɜːrəbl̩nəs/ (General American English). It presents challenges due to its length, multiple suffixes, and potential for vowel reduction in unstressed syllables.

2. Syllable Division:

The syllable division, adhering to the rule of using only original letters, is: trans-fer-a-ble-ness.

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: trans- (Latin, meaning "across," "beyond," or "change"). Morphological function: changes the verb's meaning.
• Root: fer- (Latin, from ferre meaning "to carry"). Morphological function: core meaning of the word.
• Suffix: -fer- (Latin, part of the root, meaning "to carry").
• Suffix: -able (English, from Latin -abilis). Morphological function: forms an adjective meaning "capable of being."
• Suffix: -ness (English). Morphological function: forms a noun denoting a quality or state.

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the third syllable: trans-fer-a-ble-ness.

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/trænsˈfɜːrəbl̩nəs/

6. Edge Case Review:

The syllable "ble" is potentially problematic. The /l/ can be syllabic, creating a syllabic consonant. This is reflected in the IPA transcription with the symbol /l̩/.

7. Grammatical Role:

"Transferableness" functions primarily as a noun. While theoretically, one could attempt to use it attributively (e.g., "transferableness quality"), this is rare and doesn't significantly alter the syllabification.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: The quality or degree to which something can be transferred; the capacity to be conveyed or assigned.
• Grammatical Category: Noun
• Synonyms: transmissibility, portability, conveyability
• Antonyms: intransferability, immobility
• Examples: "The transferableness of skills learned in one job to another is highly valued."

9. Phonological Comparison:

• Comparable Word 1: "transferable" - trans-fer-a-ble. Syllable division is similar, lacking only the "-ness" suffix. Stress remains on the third syllable.
• Comparable Word 2: "manageableness" - man-age-a-ble-ness. Similar suffix structure (-able-ness) leads to comparable syllabification. Stress falls on the second syllable.
• Comparable Word 3: "understandableness" - un-der-stand-a-ble-ness. Again, the -able-ness suffix pattern is consistent. Stress falls on the third syllable.

Detailed Syllable Analysis:

Division Rules Applied:

1. Vowel Rule: Each syllable must contain at least one vowel sound.
2. Onset-Rime Rule: Syllables are divided into an onset (initial consonant(s)) and a rime (vowel and any following consonants).
3. Consonant Cluster Rule: Consonant clusters are generally maintained within a syllable unless they are easily separable.
4. Syllabic Consonant Rule: /l/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/ can form syllables when following a vowel and not part of a consonant cluster.

Special Considerations:

The word's length and complex morphology make it prone to vowel reduction in unstressed syllables. Regional variations in pronunciation might affect the realization of the syllabic /l/ in "ble."

Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

Some speakers might pronounce the "a" in "transferable" as /æ/ instead of /ə/. This would not change the syllable division but would affect the phonetic transcription.