Hyphenation ofsurenchérissions

Analysis of "surenchérissions" (French)

1. Pronunciation: The word "surenchérissions" is pronounced with a relatively complex sequence of sounds, typical of French verb conjugations. It involves nasal vowels, liaison possibilities, and a final schwa.

2. Syllable Division: Following French syllabification rules, which prioritize vowel sounds and avoid breaking consonant clusters unless they are pronounced as separate syllables, the division is as follows (using only the original letters):

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• sur-: Prefix (Latin origin, meaning "over," "above"). Morphological function: intensifier.
• enchérir-: Root (Old French from encherir, ultimately from Latin in- + carere "to lack"). Morphological function: base verb meaning "to bid," "to raise the price."
• -issions: Suffix (French verbal inflection). Morphological function: indicates the first-person plural imperfect subjunctive mood.

4. Stress Identification: In French, stress generally falls on the last syllable of a phrase or breath group. However, in polysyllabic words, it's often subtle. In this case, the stress is on the final syllable "-ssions".

5. Phonetic Transcription: /sy.ʁɑ̃.ʃe.ʁi.sjɔ̃/

6. Syllable Breakdown & Rule Application:

• su-: /sy/ - Open syllable. Rule: Syllables are formed around vowel sounds. No consonant clusters to break.
• ren-: /ʁɑ̃/ - Nasal vowel. Rule: Nasal vowels form their own syllable. Consonant preceding the nasal vowel is included.
• ché-: /ʃe/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Consonant following a vowel forms a closed syllable.
• ris-: /ʁi/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Consonant following a vowel forms a closed syllable.
• sions: /sjɔ̃/ - Nasal vowel. Rule: Nasal vowels form their own syllable. Consonant preceding the nasal vowel is included.

7. Edge Case Review: The "ch" digraph is pronounced as /ʃ/ and doesn't create a syllable break. The "r" is a uvular fricative, typical of French, and doesn't affect syllabification.

8. Grammatical Role: "Surenchérissions" is exclusively the first-person plural imperfect subjunctive of the verb "surenchérir." Syllabification remains consistent regardless of the verb's tense or mood.

9. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: First-person plural imperfect subjunctive of "surenchérir."
• Translation: "we were outbidding," "we would outbid."
• Part of Speech: Verb (conjugation)
• Synonyms: (depending on context) "dépasser," "surpasser" (to exceed)
• Antonyms: "sous-enchérir" (to underbid)
• Examples: "Nous surenchérissions pour obtenir le tableau." (We were outbidding to obtain the painting.)

10. Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations: While the standard pronunciation is /sy.ʁɑ̃.ʃe.ʁi.sjɔ̃/, some regional variations might exhibit slight differences in vowel quality or the pronunciation of the "r." However, these variations generally don't alter the syllable division.

11. Phonological Comparison:

• communication: /kɔ.my.ni.ka.sjɔ̃/ - Syllables: co-mu-ni-ca-tion. Similar nasal vowel ending.
• organisation: /ɔʁ.ɡa.ni.za.sjɔ̃/ - Syllables: or-ga-ni-sa-tion. Similar syllable structure with nasal vowel.
• révolution: /ʁe.vo.ly.sjɔ̃/ - Syllables: ré-vo-lu-tion. Similar syllable structure with nasal vowel.

The syllable division in "surenchérissions" follows the same principles as these words: vowels form syllable nuclei, and consonants are assigned to the adjacent syllable based on pronunciation. The presence of nasal vowels consistently creates distinct syllables.