Hyphenation ofcontre-murerait

Analysis of "contre-murerait"

1. Pronunciation: The word "contre-murerait" is pronounced approximately as /kɔ̃tʁə myʁɛ/. It's a complex verb form, a conditional tense, third-person singular.

2. Syllable Division: The syllable division, adhering to the rule of maximizing onsets and respecting vowel clusters, is: con-tre-mu-re-rait.

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: contre- (from Old French contre, ultimately from Latin contra) - meaning "against, counter-".
• Root: mur- (from Old French mur, ultimately from Latin murus) - meaning "wall".
• Suffix: -erait (from the conditional ending -ait + infinitive ending -er) - indicating conditional mood, third-person singular.

4. Stress Identification: The primary stress falls on the final syllable: /myʁɛ/.

5. Phonetic Transcription: /kɔ̃tʁə myʁɛ/

6. Edge Case Review: French syllabification generally avoids leaving a single consonant as the onset of a syllable. This is respected in the division. Liaison is possible between the 'e' of 'contre' and the 'm' of 'murerait' in fluent speech, but this doesn't affect the underlying syllabic structure.

7. Grammatical Role: "Contre-murerait" is exclusively a verb form (conditional tense, third-person singular). The syllabification remains consistent regardless of its function within a sentence.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: To build a wall against something; to reinforce with a wall.
• Translation: Would wall up, would build a wall against.
• Grammatical Category: Verb (Conditional)
• Synonyms: fortifier, barrer (depending on context)
• Antonyms: démolir, abattre
• Examples: "Il contre-murerait la brèche pour empêcher l'ennemi d'entrer." (He would wall up the breach to prevent the enemy from entering.)

9. Phonological Comparison:

• contre-attaque: con-tre-at-ta-que. Similar prefix and structure. Stress on the penultimate syllable.
• murmurer: mur-mu-rer. Root 'mur' is present. Stress on the final syllable.
• remuer: re-mu-er. Similar vowel structure and final '-er' ending. Stress on the final syllable.

The consistent stress on the final syllable in these words, when ending in '-er', is a common pattern in French. The presence of the prefix 'contre-' dictates the initial syllable division.

Detailed Syllable Analysis:

• con: /kɔ̃/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by nasal consonant. No exceptions.
• tre: /tʁə/ - Open syllable. Rule: Consonant followed by schwa. Potential exception: the 'r' could be considered part of the onset of the next syllable in some analyses, but the schwa is a clear syllable nucleus.
• mu: /my/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant. No exceptions.
• re: /ʁə/ - Open syllable. Rule: Consonant followed by schwa. No exceptions.
• rait: /ʁɛ/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by a consonant. No exceptions.

Exceptions/Special Cases:

• The 'r' sound in French can be challenging to syllabify, as it can sometimes function as a syllable divider. However, in this case, it's clearly part of the onset of the 're' syllable.
• The nasal vowel /ɔ̃/ in "con" is a common feature of French and doesn't present a syllabification challenge.

Division Rules Applied:

• Maximize Onsets: Attempt to include as many consonants as possible in the onset of a syllable.
• Vowel Nucleus: Every syllable must have a vowel nucleus.
• Avoid Single Consonant Onsets: Avoid leaving a single consonant as the onset of a syllable if possible.