Hyphenation ofembranquecer-lhes-íamos

Analysis of "embranquecer-lhes-íamos" (Portuguese)

1. Pronunciation Considerations:

The word "embranquecer-lhes-íamos" is a conjugated verb form in Portuguese. It's a complex word formed by the combination of a verb stem, clitic pronouns, and personal endings. Pronunciation involves careful attention to vowel reduction, nasalization, and liaison rules.

2. Syllable Division:

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

em-bran-que-cer-lhes-i-á-mos

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: em- (Latin) - Indicates an inceptive or iterative action (to begin to, to become).
• Root: branqu- (Latin blancus - white) - Relates to whiteness.
• Suffixes:
  • -ecer (Latin -escere) - Verb-forming suffix, indicating a process of becoming.
  • -lhes - Indirect object pronoun clitic (to them).
  • -íamos - Personal ending indicating 1st person plural conditional (we would).

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the penultimate syllable of the root: cer.

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ẽ.bɾɐ̃.ke.ˈseɾ.lɛʃ.i.ˈa.muʃ/

6. Syllable List with IPA and Rule Explanations:

• em: /ẽ/ - Open syllable. Rule: Syllables ending in vowels are generally open.
• bran: /bɾɐ̃/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Syllables ending in consonants are closed. Nasalization due to following nasal vowel.
• que: /ke/ - Open syllable. Rule: Syllables ending in vowels are generally open.
• cer: /ˈseɾ/ - Closed, stressed syllable. Rule: Stress falls on the penultimate syllable in words ending in vowels or 's'.
• lhes: /lɛʃ/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Syllables ending in consonants are closed.
• i: /i/ - Open syllable. Rule: Syllables ending in vowels are generally open.
• á: /ˈa/ - Open, stressed syllable. Rule: Acute accent indicates stress.
• mos: /muʃ/ - Closed syllable. Rule: Syllables ending in consonants are closed. Palatalization of /n/ before /ʃ/.

7. Syllable Division Rule Explanations:

• Rule 1: Open Syllables: Syllables ending in a vowel are considered open.
• Rule 2: Closed Syllables: Syllables ending in a consonant are considered closed.
• Rule 3: Penultimate Stress: In Portuguese, words ending in vowels, 'm', 'n', or 's' generally have stress on the penultimate syllable.
• Rule 4: Acute Accent: An acute accent (´) always indicates the stressed syllable.

8. Exceptions and Special Cases:

• The combination of "cer" followed by a vowel can sometimes lead to a glide, but in this case, the clear syllabification maintains the distinction.
• The clitic pronoun "lhes" is treated as a separate syllable despite being enclitic.

9. Grammatical Role:

The word is a verb in the 1st person plural conditional tense. Syllabification remains consistent regardless of tense or mood.

10. Regional Variations:

Brazilian Portuguese may exhibit slight variations in vowel pronunciation (e.g., more open vowels), but the syllabification remains largely the same. European Portuguese might have a more reduced vowel sound in unstressed syllables.

11. Phonological Comparison:

• cantaríamos: can-ta-rí-a-mos - Similar syllable structure, stress on the penultimate syllable of the root.
• esquecer-lhes-íamos: es-que-ce-ri-a-mos - Similar structure with a longer root, but the same syllabification principles apply.
• falaríamos: fa-la-rí-a-mos - Shorter root, but the same stress pattern and syllable division rules.

12. Definition & Semantics:

• Word: embranquecer-lhes-íamos
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Definitions:
  • "We would whiten them."
  • "We would make them white."
• Translation: We would whiten them.
• Synonyms: branqueá-los-íamos, esbranquiçá-los-íamos
• Antonyms: escurecer-lhes-íamos (we would darken them)
• Examples: "Se tivéssemos tempo, embranquecer-lhes-íamos as paredes." (If we had time, we would whiten their walls.)