Hyphenation ofsous-occipital

Analysis of "sous-occipital"

1. Pronunciation: The word "sous-occipital" is pronounced /suzok.si.pi.tal/ in French.

2. Syllable Division: The syllable division, adhering to the rule of dividing around vowels, is as follows (using only original letters):

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: sous- (Latin origin, meaning "under," "below"). Morphological function: adverbial prefix.
• Root: occip- (Latin occiput, meaning "back of the head"). Morphological function: lexical root.
• Suffix: -ital (Latin origin, -alis becoming -al then -ital in French, forming an adjective). Morphological function: adjectival suffix.

4. Stress Identification: The primary stress falls on the penultimate syllable: /su.zok.si.ˈpi.tal/.

5. Phonetic Transcription: /su.zok.si.pi.tal/

6. Edge Case Review: French syllable structure generally favors open syllables (ending in a vowel). The "ps" cluster is common and doesn't pose a significant syllabification challenge. Liaison is possible between "sous" and "occipital" in connected speech, but doesn't affect the underlying syllabic structure.

7. Grammatical Role: "Sous-occipital" functions primarily as an adjective. The syllabification remains consistent regardless of its grammatical role.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: Relating to the back of the skull or the occipital region.
• Grammatical Category: Adjective
• Translation: Occipital
• Synonyms: postérieur (posterior), crânien (cranial - relating to the skull)
• Antonyms: antérieur (anterior)
• Examples:
  • "Une douleur sous-occipitale." (An occipital pain.)
  • "Le nerf sous-occipital." (The occipital nerve.)

9. Phonological Comparison:

• hospital: ho-spi-tal (similar vowel-consonant alternation, stress on the penultimate syllable)
• capital: ca-pi-tal (similar vowel-consonant alternation, stress on the penultimate syllable)
• original: o-ri-gi-nal (similar vowel-consonant alternation, stress on the antepenultimate syllable - difference in stress placement)

The syllable structure of "sous-occipital" is consistent with these words in terms of vowel-consonant alternation. The difference in stress placement in "original" is due to the word's length and the application of French stress rules (penultimate syllable stress).

Syllable Breakdown Details:

• sou: /su/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by consonant. No exceptions.
• soc: /sɔk/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by consonant cluster. No exceptions.
• ci: /si/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by consonant. No exceptions.
• pi: /pi/ - Open syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by consonant. No exceptions.
• tal: /tal/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Vowel followed by consonant. No exceptions.

Exceptions/Special Cases:

• The hyphenated structure of the word is a morphological feature, not a syllabic one. Syllabification proceeds as if the word were a single unit.
• The "ps" cluster is treated as a single unit for syllabification purposes.

Division Rules Applied:

• Vowel-Consonant Division: Syllables are generally divided after vowels.
• Consonant Cluster Handling: Consonant clusters are maintained within a syllable unless a vowel intervenes.