Hyphenation ofcollega-bewindsmannen

Dutch Word Analysis: collega-bewindsmannen

1. Examination & Pronunciation:

The word "collega-bewindsmannen" is a compound noun in Dutch, meaning "colleagues in government/office". It's pronounced with a relatively even stress distribution, though the final syllable receives slightly more emphasis. The 'g' sounds are typically soft, similar to the 'h' in 'house' in English, but can vary regionally.

2. Syllable Division:

col-le-ga-be-wind-s-man-nen

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• collega: (borrowed from Italian collega) - Root. Meaning "colleague".
• be-: Prefix. Germanic origin. Function: Indicates being in a certain state or having a certain quality.
• wind: Root. From Old Dutch windan meaning "to rule, govern". Related to English "wind" in the sense of direction, but here refers to governance.
• s-: Suffix. Germanic origin. Function: Forms a noun denoting a person associated with the root.
• man-nen: Suffix. Germanic origin. Function: Plural marker for masculine nouns.

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the syllable "wind". A secondary stress is present on "col".

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/kɔ.ləˈɣa bəˈʋɪntsmɑnə(n)/

6. Edge Case Review:

Dutch syllable division generally follows the principle of maximizing onsets (consonant clusters at the beginning of a syllable). The 'wind' syllable is a good example of this. The 's' between 'wind' and 'man' is a typical example of a syllable-initial consonant following a vowel.

7. Grammatical Role:

The word is exclusively a noun. Its structure doesn't lend itself to other parts of speech without significant modification. Syllabification remains consistent regardless of grammatical context as it is a single lexical item.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Word: collega-bewindsmannen
• Grammatical Category: Noun (masculine plural)
• Translation: Colleagues in government/office, government officials
• Synonyms: ambtenaren, regeringsleden (depending on context)
• Antonyms: burgers, bevolking (citizens, population)
• Examples:
  • "De collega-bewindsmannen bespraken de nieuwe wetgeving." (The government officials discussed the new legislation.)
  • "De collega-bewindsmannen waren het eens over de begroting." (The government officials agreed on the budget.)

9. Phonological Comparison:

• voetballer: voe-tbal-ler. Similar syllable structure with consonant clusters. Stress on 'bal'.
• universiteit: u-ni-ver-si-teit. More vowel-heavy, but still follows onset maximization. Stress on 'si'.
• computerwinkel: com-pu-ter-win-kel. Compound noun, similar to "collega-bewindsmannen". Stress on 'pu'.

The differences in syllable division arise from the specific consonant and vowel sequences in each word. "collega-bewindsmannen" has a more complex consonant cluster in "bewindsmannen" requiring careful division to maintain phonotactic validity.

10. Division Rules:

• Onset Maximization: Consonant clusters are generally kept together at the beginning of a syllable. (Applied to "windsmannen")
• Vowel-Consonant Division: Syllables are often divided after a vowel. (Applied to "col-le", "ga-be")
• Syllable Weight: Dutch prefers syllables to have a certain weight (complexity). This influences how consonant clusters are broken up.

11. Special Considerations:

The pronunciation of the 'g' sound can vary regionally. In some dialects, it's a more guttural sound. This doesn't affect the syllable division, but it can influence the phonetic realization. The final -en is often reduced to -n in casual speech.