Hyphenation ofembarrancar-me-íamos

Analysis of "embarrancar-me-íamos" (Portuguese)

1. Pronunciation Considerations:

The word "embarrancar-me-íamos" is a conjugated verb form in Portuguese. It's a complex word formed by combining a verb stem, a pronoun, and a personal ending. Pronunciation involves nasal vowels, palatalization of /n/ before /j/, and careful attention to stress placement.

2. Syllable Division:

Following Portuguese syllabification rules, the word is divided as follows (using only original letters):

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: em- (Latin in-) - Prefixes a verb, often indicating initiation of an action or a change of state.
• Root: barr- (origin uncertain, possibly pre-Roman Iberian) - The core meaning related to obstruction or a bank (of a river).
• Suffixes:
  • -an- (Latin -ant-) - Present participle suffix, forming a verbal adjective.
  • -car- (Latin -care) - Inchoative suffix, indicating the beginning of an action.
  • -me (Portuguese pronoun) - Reflexive pronoun, indicating the action is performed on the subject.
  • -íamos (Latin -iamus) - First-person plural imperfect indicative ending.

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the antepenultimate syllable: cá.

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ẽ.ba.ʁɐ̃.ˈkã.mɪ.ˈja.muʃ/

6. Syllable Breakdown & Rule Application:

Division Rules Applied:

1. Vowel Rule: A vowel typically initiates a new syllable.
2. Consonant Cluster Rule: Consonant clusters are generally maintained within a syllable unless they are easily separable.
3. Nasal Vowel Rule: Nasal vowels require the preceding nasal consonant to belong to the same syllable.
4. Pronoun Clitic Rule: Pronoun clitics (like me) form separate syllables.

7. Exceptions & Special Cases:

• The palatalization of /n/ before /i/ in "íamos" is a common phonetic phenomenon but doesn't directly affect syllabification.
• The combination of the verb stem and pronoun can sometimes lead to ambiguity, but in this case, the pronoun is clearly cliticized and forms its own syllable.

8. Grammatical Role & Syllabification Shifts:

The word is a conjugated verb form. If the verb were in the infinitive ("embarrancar"), the syllabification would be "em-ba-rran-car" and the stress would shift to the penultimate syllable ("em-ba-rran-cár").

9. Definition & Semantics:

• Part of Speech: Verb
• Definitions:
  • "To get stuck; to become bogged down."
  • "To run aground."
• Translation: "We would get stuck."
• Synonyms: atolar, encalhar
• Antonyms: desatolar, desencalhar
• Examples:
  • "O carro embarrancou na lama." (The car got stuck in the mud.)
  • "Nós embarrancaríamos se continuássemos a avançar." (We would get stuck if we continued to go forward.)

10. Regional Variations:

Pronunciation of nasal vowels can vary slightly between regions in Portugal and Brazil. However, the syllabification remains consistent.

11. Phonological Comparison:

• caminharíamos (we would walk): "ca-mi-nha-rí-a-mos" - Similar structure with a verb stem and ending. Stress on the antepenultimate syllable.
• conversaríamos (we would talk): "con-ver-sa-rí-a-mos" - Similar structure, stress on the antepenultimate syllable.
• trabalharíamos (we would work): "tra-ba-lha-rí-a-mos" - Similar structure, stress on the antepenultimate syllable.

The consistency in stress placement and syllabification across these words demonstrates the regular application of Portuguese phonological rules. The presence of consonant clusters (br, tr) is handled similarly, maintaining them within syllables.