Hyphenation ofmeerderheidspositie

Linguistic Analysis of "meerderheidspositie" (Dutch)

1. Examination & Pronunciation:

The word "meerderheidspositie" (majority position) is a compound noun in Dutch. Its pronunciation involves a sequence of vowels and consonants typical of Dutch, with potential for vowel reduction in unstressed syllables.

2. Syllable Division:

Following Dutch syllabification rules, which generally favor open syllables (CV) and avoid consonant clusters at syllable boundaries where possible, the division is as follows (using only original letters):

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• meerderheid (majority):
  • meer (more) - Germanic origin, comparative adjective root.
  • -der- (comparative suffix) - Germanic origin, forms comparative degree.
  • -heid (abstract noun suffix) - Germanic origin, creates abstract nouns denoting a state or quality.
• positie (position):
  • positie - Borrowed from French position, ultimately from Latin positio (act of placing).

4. Stress Identification:

Dutch stress is generally on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable of a word. In this case, the primary stress falls on "-der-".

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ˈmeːrdərˌhɛitspoːziˈti/

6. Syllable Breakdown & Rule Application:

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

• mee- /meː/ - Open syllable (CV). Rule: Dutch prefers open syllables. No exceptions.
• -der- /ˈdər/ - Stressed syllable. Rule: Penultimate stress. Potential exception: Stress can shift in certain compounds, but this is standard here.
• -heid /hɛit/ - Open syllable (CV). Rule: Dutch prefers open syllables. No exceptions.
• -spo- /spoː/ - Open syllable (CV). Rule: Dutch prefers open syllables. No exceptions.
• -si- /zi/ - Open syllable (CV). Rule: Dutch prefers open syllables. No exceptions.
• -tie /ˈti/ - Open syllable (CV). Rule: Dutch prefers open syllables. No exceptions.

7. Edge Case Review:

The "sp" cluster is permissible at the beginning of a syllable in Dutch. The vowel reduction in unstressed syllables is a common phenomenon, but doesn't affect the syllabification itself.

8. Grammatical Role:

The word is primarily a noun. Syllabification remains consistent regardless of grammatical function.

9. Definition & Semantics:

• meerderheidspositie (noun)
  • Definition: The position of having a majority; a dominant position.
  • Translation: Majority position
  • Synonyms: dominante positie, leidende positie
  • Antonyms: minderheidspositie
  • Examples: "De partij bekleedde een meerderheidspositie in het parlement." (The party held a majority position in parliament.)

10. Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

Regional variations in vowel pronunciation exist in Dutch, but they don't significantly alter the syllabification. Some speakers might slightly reduce the vowel length in unstressed syllables.

11. Phonological Comparison:

• universiteit (university): u-ni-ver-si-teit. Similar syllable structure (CV-CV-CV-CV-CV).
• mogelijkheid (possibility): mo-ge-lijk-heid. Similar suffix structure (-heid).
• verantwoordelijkheid (responsibility): ver-ant-woor-de-lijk-heid. Longer compound, but follows the same CV-based syllabification.

The consistent application of CV-based syllabification across these words demonstrates the regularity of Dutch phonology. The primary difference lies in the length and complexity of the compound words.