Hyphenation ofyoung-conscienced

Linguistic Analysis of "young-conscienced"

1. Pronunciation Examination:

The word "young-conscienced" is pronounced as /jʌŋˈkɑnʃənsd/ (General American English). It's a compound adjective formed by combining "young" and "conscienced." The pronunciation reflects this compound structure.

2. Syllable Division:

The syllable division, adhering to the rule of using only the original letters, is: young-con-scienced.

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: None
• Root: young (Old English, geong - meaning 'being in the early period of life or growth') - adjective.
• Suffix: -conscienced (formed from conscience + -ed)
  • conscience (Old French conscience - meaning 'knowledge, awareness') - noun.
  • -ed (Old English -ed) - suffix indicating past participle or adjective formation. In this case, it forms an adjectival participle.

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the second syllable of "conscienced," making it /kɑnˈʃənsd/. Therefore, the overall stress pattern is 0 1 0.

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/jʌŋˈkɑnʃənsd/

6. Edge Case Review:

The hyphenated nature of the word presents a slight edge case. While typically hyphenated compounds are treated as separate words for some phonological processes, here, the close semantic relationship and adjectival function necessitate treating it as a single unit for syllabification.

7. Grammatical Role:

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

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: Having or showing a strong sense of moral principles and a feeling of guilt when doing something wrong, especially at a young age.
• Grammatical Category: Adjective
• Synonyms: principled, ethical, moral, scrupulous
• Antonyms: unscrupulous, immoral, unethical, amoral
• Examples: "The young-conscienced student confessed to cheating on the exam." "She was a young-conscienced lawyer dedicated to justice."

9. Phonological Comparison:

• "well-meaning": well-mean-ing. Similar structure – compound adjective. Stress on the second syllable of the second element.
• "high-minded": high-mind-ed. Similar structure – compound adjective. Stress on the second syllable of the second element.
• "good-natured": good-na-tured. Similar structure – compound adjective. Stress on the second syllable of the second element.

The consistent stress pattern in these compound adjectives (stress on the second syllable of the second element) reinforces the syllabification of "young-conscienced."

Syllable Analysis Breakdown:

Division Rules Applied:

1. Vowel-Coda Rule: Syllables are generally divided around vowels. If a vowel is followed by a consonant, it forms a closed syllable. If it's not followed by a consonant, it forms an open syllable.
2. Maximal Onset Principle: When dividing consonant clusters, attempt to include as many consonants as possible in the onset of the following syllable.

Special Considerations:

The hyphenated structure is a key consideration. While it could be argued that "young" and "conscienced" are separate words, the adjectival function and semantic unity necessitate treating it as a single word for syllabification.

Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

Regional variations in vowel pronunciation (e.g., /ʌ/ vs. /ə/) might occur, but these do not significantly alter the syllabification.

Short Analysis:

"young-conscienced" is a compound adjective syllabified as young-con-scienced, with primary stress on the second syllable of "conscienced." It's formed from the root "young" and the suffix "-conscienced," and its syllabification follows standard English vowel-coda and maximal onset principles.