Hyphenation ofcontre-passâtes

Analysis of "contre-passâtes"

1. Pronunciation Considerations:

The word "contre-passâtes" is a conjugated form of the verb passer (to pass) in the passé simple tense, third-person plural. It exhibits several features characteristic of French phonology, including nasal vowels, liaison possibilities, and historical orthographic remnants. The 'â' indicates a closed 'a' sound, and the final 's' is silent unless liaison occurs.

2. Syllable Division:

Following French syllabification rules, which prioritize vowel sounds and avoid breaking consonant clusters unless they are complex, the word divides as follows (using only the original letters):

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: contre- (Latin contra - against). Function: prepositional prefix indicating opposition or counteraction.
• Root: pass- (Latin passus - step, passage). Function: verb stem denoting movement or the passage of time.
• Suffix: -âtes (from Latin -atis). Function: passé simple ending for the third-person plural.

4. Stress Identification:

In French, stress generally falls on the last syllable of a phrase or breath group. However, in the passé simple, the stress tends to fall on the penultimate syllable. In this case, the stress falls on "-â-".

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/kɔ̃tʁ.pa.sa.te/

6. Syllable Breakdown & Rule Application:

• con-tre: /kɔ̃tʁ/ - Rule: Open syllable followed by a consonant cluster. The 'tr' cluster is maintained as a unit. Potential exception: The nasal vowel /ɔ̃/ can sometimes influence syllable boundaries, but here it's clearly part of the first syllable.
• pa-sâ: /pa.sa/ - Rule: Vowel-consonant-vowel pattern. The 'sâ' forms a syllable due to the vowel 'â'.
• -tes: /te/ - Rule: Final consonant followed by a schwa-like vowel. This is a closed syllable.

7. Edge Case Review:

The hyphenated structure "contre-" is a common prefix in French, and its syllabification is relatively straightforward. The passé simple endings can sometimes be ambiguous, but the "-âtes" ending is consistently treated as a single syllable.

8. Grammatical Role:

"Contre-passâtes" is exclusively the third-person plural passé simple form of the verb passer. Syllabification does not change based on grammatical role as it is a fixed verb form.

9. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: They passed against, they went against, they opposed.
• Part of Speech: Verb (passé simple, third-person plural)
• Translation: They passed against/opposed.
• Synonyms: s'opposèrent, se dressèrent contre
• Antonyms: acquiescèrent, acceptèrent
• Examples: "Les soldats contre-passâtes les ordres du général." (The soldiers went against the general's orders.)

10. Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

Pronunciation is fairly standard. However, in some regions, the nasal vowel /ɔ̃/ might be slightly more open. This wouldn't significantly alter the syllable division.

11. Phonological Comparison:

• contre-attaque: /kɔ̃tʁ.a.tak/ - Syllables: con-tre /kɔ̃tʁ/, a-tâque /a.tak/. Similar prefix and vowel-consonant structure.
• passablement: /pa.sa.blə.mɑ̃/ - Syllables: pas-sa /pa.sa/, ble-ment /blə.mɑ̃/. Shares the "pass-" root and similar syllable structure.
• dépassés: /de.pa.se/ - Syllables: dé-pas-sés /de.pa.se/. Similar verb root and suffix structure.

The consistency in syllable division across these words demonstrates the application of French syllabification rules based on vowel sounds and consonant clusters.