Hyphenation ofsous-commission

Analysis of "sous-commission"

1. Pronunciation: The word "sous-commission" is pronounced /su.kɔ.mi.sjɔ̃/ in standard French.

2. Syllable Division: The syllable division, adhering to the rule of maximizing onsets and avoiding stranded consonants, is as follows (using only the original letters):

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: sous- (from Old French sos, ultimately from Latin sub- meaning "under, below"). Morphological function: adverbial prefix indicating position or degree.
• Root: commission (from Old French comission, from Latin commissio meaning "a sending, a charge, a task"). Morphological function: noun denoting a group appointed to perform a task.
• Suffix: None. Commission functions as a noun in this compound.

4. Stress Identification: In French, stress typically falls on the last syllable of a word or phrase. In this case, the stress falls on "-sion".

5. Phonetic Transcription: /su.kɔ.mi.sjɔ̃/

6. Edge Case Review: Compound words in French often present challenges. The hyphen in "sous-commission" indicates a closer relationship between the prefix and the root than a simple space would. This influences the syllabification, preventing "sous" from being a completely separate prosodic word.

7. Grammatical Role: "Sous-commission" functions primarily as a noun. The syllabification remains consistent regardless of its grammatical role within a sentence.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: A sub-committee; a smaller committee formed from a larger one.
• Grammatical Category: Noun (feminine)
• Translation: Sub-committee
• Synonyms: sous-comité
• Antonyms: commission principale (main committee)
• Examples: "Elle fait partie de la sous-commission chargée de l'étude du projet." (She is part of the sub-committee in charge of studying the project.)

9. Phonological Comparison:

• commission: /kɔ.mi.sjɔ̃/ - Syllable division: com-mis-sion. Similar structure, demonstrating the typical French syllable structure of (C)V(C).
• admission: /a.dmi.sjɔ̃/ - Syllable division: ad-mis-sion. Similar structure, with a consonant cluster at the beginning of the second syllable.
• transmission: /tʁɑ̃s.mi.sjɔ̃/ - Syllable division: trans-mis-sion. Demonstrates how consonant clusters are handled in French syllabification.

Syllable Breakdown Details:

• sou-: /su/ - Open syllable. Rule applied: Onset-rime division. The 's' forms the onset, and 'ou' forms the rime.
• -com-: /kɔ̃/ - Closed syllable. Rule applied: Maximizing onsets. The 'c' forms the onset, and 'om' forms the rime.
• -mis-: /mi/ - Open syllable. Rule applied: Onset-rime division. The 'm' forms the onset, and 'is' forms the rime.
• -sion: /sjɔ̃/ - Closed syllable. Rule applied: Maximizing onsets. The 's' forms the onset, and 'ion' forms the rime.

Exceptions/Special Cases:

• The nasal vowel /ɔ̃/ in "-sion" can sometimes be a point of variation in pronunciation, but it doesn't affect the syllabification.
• The hyphenated structure requires careful consideration to avoid treating "sous" as a separate word.

Division Rules Applied:

• Onset-Rime Division: Dividing syllables based on the consonant-vowel boundary.
• Maximizing Onsets: Assigning consonants to the onset of the following syllable whenever possible, avoiding consonant clusters at the end of syllables.
• Avoid Stranded Consonants: Ensuring that consonants are not left alone to form a syllable.