Hyphenation ofwerkloosheidspercentage

Dutch Word Analysis: werkloosheidspercentage

1. Examination & Pronunciation:

The word "werkloosheidspercentage" is a compound noun in Dutch, meaning "unemployment rate". It's a relatively long word, typical of Dutch, formed by concatenating several morphemes. Pronunciation involves a mix of vowel qualities and consonant clusters common in Dutch.

2. Syllable Division:

Following Dutch syllabification rules, which generally favor open syllables (syllables ending in a vowel) and avoid breaking up consonant clusters where possible, the word is divided as follows (see JSON output for the exact orthographic representation).

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• werkloosheid (worklessness):
  • werk (work) - Germanic origin, root denoting labor or activity.
  • -loos (less) - Germanic origin, suffix indicating a lack of something.
  • -heid (ness) - Germanic origin, suffix forming abstract nouns.
• percentage (percentage) - Borrowed from French (ultimately from Italian percento), which comes from Latin per centum (by the hundred).

4. Stress Identification:

Dutch stress is generally on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable. In this case, the primary stress falls on "-heid" in "werkloosheid". The secondary stress falls on "per".

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ˈʋɛrkloːsɦɛitspɛrsɛntaʒə/

6. Edge Case Review:

Dutch allows for some flexibility in syllable division, particularly with consonant clusters. However, the division presented here is the most common and phonologically justifiable.

7. Grammatical Role:

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

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Definition: The proportion of the labor force that is unemployed.
• Translation: Unemployment rate
• Grammatical Category: Noun (de)
• Synonyms: werkloosheidscijfer (unemployment figure)
• Antonyms: werkgelegenheidspercentage (employment rate)
• Examples:
  • "Het werkloosheidspercentage is gestegen." (The unemployment rate has increased.)
  • "De regering probeert het werkloosheidspercentage te verlagen." (The government is trying to lower the unemployment rate.)

9. Phonological Comparison:

• werkloosheid: /ˈʋɛrkloːsɦɛit/ - Similar syllable structure to "werkgever" /ˈʋɛrkɣɛvər/ (employer). Both have a similar initial consonant cluster and vowel quality.
• percentage: /pɛrsɛntaʒə/ - Similar to "temperatuur" /ˈtɛmpəraːtyr/ (temperature). Both end in a schwa and have a similar vowel structure.
• arbeidsmarkt: /ˈaːrbɛitsmɑrkt/ (labor market) - Shares the "-markt" ending, demonstrating a common Dutch suffix structure.

10. Division Rules:

• Rule 1: Open Syllable Preference: Dutch favors creating open syllables whenever possible. This is why "loosheid" is divided as "loos-heid" rather than "loo-sheid".
• Rule 2: Consonant Cluster Preservation: Consonant clusters are generally kept together within a syllable unless they are easily separable based on pronunciation.
• Rule 3: Penultimate Stress: The primary stress falls on the penultimate syllable in most Dutch words.

11. Special Considerations:

The compound nature of the word requires careful consideration of morphemic boundaries when determining syllable divisions. The borrowed element "percentage" follows French-influenced pronunciation patterns.