Hyphenation ofendurecer-lhes-íamos

Linguistic Analysis of "endurecer-lhes-íamos" (Portuguese)

1. Examination & Pronunciation:

The word "endurecer-lhes-íamos" is a conjugated verb form in Portuguese. It's a complex word formed by combining the verb "endurecer" (to harden), the clitic pronoun "lhes" (to them), and the verb ending "-íamos" (we would). Pronunciation involves careful attention to vowel reduction, nasalization, and the liaison between word parts.

2. Syllable Division:

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

3. Morphemic Analysis:

• Prefix: en- (Latin origin, intensifying prefix, similar to English "en-")
• Root: durecer (Latin durare - to harden, to last)
• Suffixes: -ecer (verbal suffix, forming infinitive), -lhes (dative pronoun clitic, "to them"), -íamos (conditional ending, "we would")

4. Stress Identification:

The primary stress falls on the penultimate syllable of the root verb "endurecer".

5. Phonetic Transcription:

/ẽ.du.ɾe.ˈseɾ.ʎes.i.ɐ.muʃ/

6. Edge Case Review:

The clitic pronoun "lhes" presents a slight edge case as it's often pronounced with a palatal lateral /ʎ/ rather than a standard /l/. The final "-mos" is often reduced in rapid speech.

7. Grammatical Role:

The word is a verb in the conditional tense, third person plural. Syllabification remains consistent regardless of grammatical function as it's a single conjugated form.

8. Definition & Semantics:

• Word: endurecer-lhes-íamos
• Grammatical Category: Verb (Conditional, 3rd person plural)
• Translation: We would harden them / We would make them harder.
• Synonyms: fortalecer-lhes-íamos (we would strengthen them), tornar-lhes-íamos mais duros (we would make them harder)
• Antonyms: amolecer-lhes-íamos (we would soften them)
• Examples:
  • "Se tivéssemos mais recursos, endurecer-lhes-íamos as medidas de segurança." (If we had more resources, we would harden the security measures for them.)

9. Phonological Comparison:

• fortaleceríamos: for-ta-le-ce-rí-a-mos (similar structure, stress on the penultimate syllable of the root)
• dureza: du-re-za (simpler structure, but shares the "dure-" root, stress on the first syllable)
• amoleceríamos: a-mo-le-ce-rí-a-mos (similar structure, stress on the penultimate syllable of the root)

The syllable division in all these words follows the same principles: vowels generally form separate syllables, consonant clusters are broken according to sonority, and stress influences the perceived prominence of syllables.

Detailed Syllable Analysis:

Division Rules Applied:

1. Vowel-initial Syllable: Each vowel generally begins a new syllable.
2. Consonant Cluster Separation: Consonant clusters are broken based on sonority (more sonorous sounds tend to form syllable nuclei).
3. Stress Rule: Stress falls on the penultimate syllable unless overridden by accent marks or other rules.

Special Considerations:

• The clitic pronoun "lhes" can be pronounced with a palatal lateral /ʎ/ instead of /les/.
• Vowel reduction is common in unstressed syllables.
• Final 'm' often nasalizes the preceding vowel.

Alternative Pronunciations/Regional Variations:

Regional variations in vowel pronunciation and the realization of the "lh" digraph are possible. Some dialects might exhibit more pronounced vowel reduction.