Hyphenation ofworldly-mindedness

Analysis of "worldly-mindedness"

1. Pronunciation: The word is pronounced /ˈwɜːrldli ˈmaɪndɪdnəs/ in General American English.

2. Syllable Division: wor-ldly-mind-ed-ness

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: world- (Old English woruld, meaning "human existence, the earth, the universe"). Denotes relation to the world.
• Root: mind- (Old English ge-mind, meaning "to remember, think"). Represents the faculty of thought.
• Suffixes:
  • -ly (Old English -lice, adverbial suffix). Forms an adverb from an adjective.
  • -ed (Old English -ed, verbal suffix). Forms the past tense or past participle. In this case, it functions as part of the adjective "minded".
  • -ness (Old English -nes, noun suffix). Forms a noun denoting a state or quality.

4. Stress Identification: Primary stress falls on the first syllable of "worldly" (/ˈwɜːrldli/) and on the first syllable of "mindedness" (/ˈmaɪndɪdnəs/).

5. Phonetic Transcription: /ˈwɜːrldli ˈmaɪndɪdnəs/

6. Edge Case Review: The compound adjective "worldly-minded" is relatively stable in its syllabification. The hyphen aids in visual separation, but doesn't fundamentally alter the phonetic realization.

7. Grammatical Role: "Worldly-mindedness" functions primarily as a noun. The syllabification remains consistent regardless of grammatical function.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: The state of being concerned with worldly affairs and pleasures; a lack of spiritual or intellectual depth.
• Grammatical Category: Noun
• Synonyms: materialism, secularism, pragmatism, worldliness
• Antonyms: spirituality, idealism, asceticism
• Examples: "His worldly-mindedness prevented him from appreciating the beauty of nature." "She overcame her worldly-mindedness and dedicated her life to charity."

9. Phonological Comparison:

• Happiness: hap-pi-ness. Similar structure with a disyllabic root and a suffix. Stress pattern is also similar (primary stress on the first syllable of the root).
• Friendliness: friend-li-ness. Again, a similar structure with a disyllabic root and a suffix. Stress pattern is similar.
• Kindness: kind-ness. A simpler structure, but demonstrates the common -ness suffix and its effect on syllabification. Stress is on the first syllable.

Syllable Breakdown Details:

• wor: /wɜːr/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant. Potential exception: The 'r' is a rhotic consonant, common in US English, influencing vowel quality.
• ldly: /ldli/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Consonant cluster followed by a vowel and consonant. Potential exception: The 'ld' cluster is relatively common and doesn't pose a significant syllabification challenge.
• mind: /maɪnd/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by consonant cluster.
• ed: /ɪd/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by consonant.
• ness: /nəs/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Consonant followed by vowel and consonant.

Exceptions/Special Cases:

• The compound adjective "worldly-minded" is treated as a single unit for stress assignment, but is divided into syllables based on the individual morphemes.
• The 'r' in "worldly" can be pronounced as a rhotic consonant, affecting the vowel quality, but not the syllabification.

Division Rules Applied:

• Vowel-Consonant (VC): Syllables typically end in vowels.
• Consonant Cluster: Consonant clusters are generally maintained within a syllable unless they can be broken up by a vowel.
• Morpheme Boundaries: Syllabification often respects morpheme boundaries.