Hyphenation ofcontre-attaquant

Analysis of "contre-attaquant"

1. Examination & Pronunciation:

The word "contre-attaquant" is a French word meaning "counter-attacker." It's a compound word formed by a prefix ("contre-") and a participle used as an adjective ("attaquant"). Pronunciation involves nasal vowels and liaison possibilities.

2. Syllable Division:

Following French syllabification rules, which prioritize vowel sounds and avoid breaking consonant clusters unless they are pronounceable as separate syllables, the division is as follows (see JSON output for the orthographic representation).

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: contre- (Old French, from Latin contra meaning "against"). Function: Indicates opposition or reversal.
• Root: attaquant (from attaquer, verb attaquer - to attack, from Old French atacier, from Latin attaccare - to attack). Function: The core meaning of attacking. This is a present participle used adjectivally.
• Suffix: None explicitly visible, but the -ant ending is a present participle suffix.

4. Stress Identification:

French generally has stress on the final syllable of a word or a phrase. In this case, the stress falls on "-quant".

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/kɔ̃tʁ.a.takɑ̃/

6. Edge Case Review:

The liaison between "contre" and "attaquant" is possible in fluent speech, but doesn't affect the syllabification. The nasal vowels /ɔ̃/ and /ɑ̃/ require careful transcription.

7. Grammatical Role:

"Contre-attaquant" functions primarily as an adjective, modifying a noun (e.g., l'équipe contre-attaquante - the counter-attacking team). The syllabification remains consistent regardless of its grammatical function.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: A person or team that launches counter-attacks.
• Translation: Counter-attacker
• Grammatical Category: Adjective (masculine singular)
• Synonyms: réactif (reactive), offensif (offensive - in a counter-attacking sense)
• Antonyms: passif (passive), défensif (defensive)
• Examples:
  • L'équipe a une stratégie contre-attaquante. (The team has a counter-attacking strategy.)
  • Le joueur est un spécialiste des actions contre-attaquantes. (The player is a specialist in counter-attacks.)

9. Phonological Comparison:

• "restaurant": /ʁɛs.to.ʁɑ̃/ - Syllable division: res-tau-rant. Similar nasal vowel /ɑ̃/. Stress on the final syllable.
• "important": /ɛ̃.pɔʁ.tɑ̃/ - Syllable division: im-por-tant. Similar nasal vowel /ɑ̃/. Stress on the final syllable.
• "décontractant": /de.kɔ̃.tʁak.tɑ̃/ - Syllable division: dé-con-trac-tant. Similar nasal vowel /ɑ̃/. Stress on the final syllable.

The syllable structure in "contre-attaquant" is consistent with these words, all exhibiting a final-syllable stress and the presence of nasal vowels. The main difference lies in the initial consonant cluster "contr-" which is common in French and doesn't necessitate syllable separation within the cluster.

10. Division Rules:

• Rule 1: Vowel-Based Division: Syllables are generally formed around vowel sounds.
• Rule 2: Consonant Cluster Handling: Consonant clusters are kept together unless they can be naturally pronounced as separate syllables.
• Rule 3: Final Syllable Stress: French typically stresses the final syllable.
• Rule 4: Prefix/Suffix Separation: Prefixes and suffixes are generally treated as separate syllables if they maintain their distinct pronunciation.

11. Special Considerations:

The hyphen in "contre-attaquant" is a morphological marker indicating a compound word, but it doesn't affect the syllabification process. Liaison is possible, but doesn't change the syllable structure.

12. Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

While the standard pronunciation is /kɔ̃tʁ.a.takɑ̃/, some regional variations might slightly alter the vowel quality or the pronunciation of the "r" sound. However, these variations wouldn't significantly impact the syllabification.