Hyphenation ofstemmenoverschotten

Dutch Word Analysis: stemmenoverschotten

1. Examination & Pronunciation:

The word "stemmenoverschotten" is a compound noun in Dutch. It's pronounced with a relatively even stress distribution, though the penultimate syllable receives slightly more emphasis. The 'g' is a voiced velar fricative /ɣ/, and the 'v' is a voiced labiodental fricative /v/.

2. Syllable Division:

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

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• stem-: Root. Origin: Germanic. Meaning: 'voice' or 'stem' (as in voting). Morphological function: Noun stem.
• men-: Suffix. Origin: Germanic. Meaning: plural marker for nouns. Morphological function: Pluralization.
• over-: Prefix. Origin: Germanic. Meaning: 'over', 'excess'. Morphological function: Intensifier/Modifier.
• schot-: Root. Origin: Germanic. Meaning: 'shot', 'portion', 'surplus'. Morphological function: Noun stem.
• -ten: Suffix. Origin: Germanic. Meaning: indicates a plural noun. Morphological function: Pluralization.

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the penultimate syllable: "schot-ten". Dutch stress is generally weak and predictable, but in compounds, the stress tends to fall on the penultimate syllable of the final element.

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ˈstɛmənoːvərˌsxɔtən/

6. Edge Case Review:

Dutch allows for some flexibility in compound word stress, but the penultimate syllable rule is generally followed. The 'sch' cluster is a common initial consonant cluster and doesn't pose a syllabification problem.

7. Grammatical Role:

"stemmenoverschotten" functions solely as a noun. Syllabification and stress remain consistent regardless of its grammatical context within a sentence.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: Excess votes; a surplus of votes.
• Grammatical Category: Noun (de - neuter gender)
• Translation: Excess votes
• Synonyms: stemmenmeerderheid (vote majority)
• Antonyms: stemmengebrek (vote shortage)
• Examples:
  • "De verkiezingen leverden stemmenoverschotten op voor de winnende partij." (The elections yielded excess votes for the winning party.)

9. Phonological Comparison:

• woordenboekken (dictionaries): wo-or-den-boek-ken. Similar syllable structure with compound words. Stress on the penultimate syllable.
• televisietoestellen (television sets): te-le-vi-si-e-toes-tel-len. Longer compound, but follows the same stress pattern.
• landschappenfoto's (landscape photos): land-schap-pen-fo-to's. Demonstrates the pluralization suffix '-s' and the compound structure.

The key difference is the length and complexity of the compound. "stemmenoverschotten" is relatively straightforward, while "televisietoestellen" is significantly longer, but the underlying syllabification principles remain consistent.

10. Division Rules:

• Rule 1: Open Syllable Preference: Dutch favors open syllables (CV). This is applied throughout the word.
• Rule 2: Avoidance of Initial Consonant Clusters: While consonant clusters are allowed, Dutch tends to avoid starting a syllable with a complex cluster if possible.
• Rule 3: Compound Word Stress: Stress generally falls on the penultimate syllable of the final element in a compound word.

11. Special Considerations:

The 'sch' cluster is treated as a single unit for syllabification purposes. The vowel length in "stemmen" (stem-men) is a long vowel /eː/ due to the geminate consonant.