Hyphenation ofintervertébrales

Linguistic Analysis of "intervertébrales" (French)

1. Examination & Pronunciation:

The word "intervertébrales" is a French adjective meaning "intervertebral." It's a relatively complex word, built from multiple morphemes. Pronunciation involves liaison possibilities depending on the following word.

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 (using only original letters):

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: inter- (Latin, meaning "between" or "among") - Prefixes in French generally remain attached to the root and are not separated in syllabification.
• Root: vertébr- (Latin vertebra, meaning "joint of the spine") - This is the core meaning-bearing unit.
• Suffix: -ales (French, adjectival plural marker) - This suffix indicates the plural and adjectival form.

4. Stress Identification:

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

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ɛ̃.tɛʁ.veʁ.te.bʁal/

6. Syllable Breakdown & Rule Application:

Here's a detailed breakdown of each syllable, with IPA transcription, rule application, and potential exceptions:

• in-: /ɛ̃/ - Open syllable. Rule: Syllables are formed around vowel sounds. No consonant clusters to break. Exception: Nasal vowel.
• ter-: /tɛʁ/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Consonant following a vowel forms a syllable. The 'r' is a rhotic consonant, and is part of the syllable.
• ver-: /veʁ/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel sound followed by consonant. The 'r' is a rhotic consonant, and is part of the syllable.
• té-: /te/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel sound followed by consonant. The acute accent on the 'é' indicates a closed mid-front vowel.
• bra-: /bʁa/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel sound followed by consonant. The 'r' is a rhotic consonant, and is part of the syllable.
• les: /lal/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Final syllable, carries the stress. Liaison is possible with a following vowel.

7. Edge Case Review:

The 'r' sound in French is often a point of syllabification consideration. It's generally included in the syllable following the vowel. The nasal vowel /ɛ̃/ in the first syllable is a common feature of French and doesn't significantly alter the syllabification process.

8. Grammatical Role:

"Intervertébrales" is primarily an adjective. Syllabification remains consistent regardless of its grammatical function within a sentence.

9. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: Relating to or located between the vertebrae.
• Translation: Intervertebral
• Grammatical Category: Adjective
• Synonyms: (related to the spine) vertébral, rachidien
• Antonyms: (none directly applicable)
• Examples:
  • "Les disques intervertébrales." (The intervertebral discs.)
  • "Une hernie intervertébrale." (An intervertebral hernia.)

10. Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

Pronunciation is fairly standard across France. However, some regional accents might slightly alter the vowel quality or the pronunciation of the 'r' sound. These variations wouldn't typically affect the syllabification.

11. Phonological Comparison:

• comparables: /kɔ̃.pa.ʁa.bl/ - Syllables: com-pa-ra-bles. Similar structure with vowel-consonant patterns.
• particulières: /paʁ.ti.ky.ljɛʁ/ - Syllables: par-ti-cu-liè-res. Similar vowel-consonant alternation.
• universelles: /y.ni.vɛʁ.sɛl/ - Syllables: u-ni-ver-sel-les. Similar final stressed syllable and vowel-consonant patterns.

The differences in syllable count are due to the varying lengths of the root and suffix components. The core syllabification rules (vowel-centered syllables, consonant inclusion) remain consistent.