Hyphenation ofindéterminables

Linguistic Analysis of "indéterminables" (French)

1. Pronunciation Examination:

The word "indéterminables" is pronounced with a relatively complex syllable structure, typical of French words with multiple prefixes and suffixes. The 'r' is a uvular fricative, and vowel sounds are nasalized where indicated by the following consonant.

2. Syllable Division:

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

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: in- (Latin origin, meaning "not," "un-"). Morphological function: negation.
• Root: détermin- (Latin determinare, meaning "to determine," "to fix"). Morphological function: core meaning of the word.
• Suffix: -ables (French suffix, from Latin -abilis, meaning "able to be"). Morphological function: forms an adjective indicating capability.

4. Stress Identification:

In French, stress generally falls on the last syllable of a word or phrase. In this case, the stress falls on "-bles".

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ɛ̃.de.teʁ.mi.nabl(ə)/

6. Edge Case Review:

The presence of the nasal vowel /ɛ̃/ and the liaison possibilities with following words require careful consideration. The 'r' sound is a uvular fricative, common in modern French.

7. Grammatical Role:

"Indéterminables" functions as an adjective. Syllabification and stress remain consistent regardless of its grammatical role within a sentence.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: Not determinable; indefinite; uncountable.
• Translation: Indeterminable (English)
• Grammatical Category: Adjective
• Synonyms: imprécis, incertain, vague
• Antonyms: précis, certain, défini
• Examples:
  • "Les coûts sont indéterminables." (The costs are indeterminable.)
  • "Il y a un nombre indéterminable de possibilités." (There is an indeterminable number of possibilities.)

9. Phonological Comparison:

• Comparable Word 1: "indéterminé" (indé-ter-mi-né) - Similar prefix and root. Syllable division is consistent, with stress on the final syllable.
• Comparable Word 2: "déterminables" (dé-ter-mi-na-bles) - Shares the root and suffix. Syllable division follows the same pattern, with stress on the final syllable.
• Comparable Word 3: "imprévisibles" (im-pré-vi-si-bles) - Similar structure with a prefix, root, and suffix. Syllable division is consistent, with stress on the final syllable.

Detailed Syllable Analysis:

Division Rules Applied:

1. Vowel-Initial Syllable: Each vowel sound generally begins a new syllable.
2. Consonant Cluster Rule: Consonant clusters are generally kept together within a syllable unless they are complex and involve a liquid consonant.
3. Final Syllable Rule: The final syllable often contains any remaining consonants.

Special Considerations:

• The nasal vowel /ɛ̃/ requires specific pronunciation rules.
• The uvular 'r' sound is a characteristic of modern French pronunciation.
• Liaison possibilities with following words could affect pronunciation but not syllabification.

Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

Regional variations in French pronunciation might affect the realization of the 'r' sound (e.g., alveolar trill in some regions) or the schwa in "-bles", but the core syllabification remains consistent.