Hyphenation in the Spanish language

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The hyphenation in the Spanish language corresponds to the phonological structure of the words ( spoken syllables). Knowledge of the Spanish hyphenation is a prerequisite for the correct spelling of the word stress in Spanish , whereby the accent mark ( diacritical mark or acute ) has to be placed on the third to last, penultimate or last syllable in many cases.

A syllable , as a unit of speech, can consist of several consonants and vowels . Each syllable must contain at least one vowel. Short syllables can also consist of just a single vowel. - Examples:

  • amiga [a-'mi-ga] - girlfriend
  • leído [le-'í-do] - read
  • caoba [ca-'o-ba] - mahogany
  • examen [e-'xa-men] - exam
  • uva ['u-va] - grape.

Syllables in Spanish mostly consist of a consonant followed by a vowel (example: dinero [di-'ne-ro] - money).

Hyphenation for consonants

The hyphenation of consonants is based on the following rules:

1. The hyphenation occurs only before or after consonants. At the point of separation, a maximum of one consonant belongs to the following syllable (for exceptions see point 4).

2. A consonant that is between two vowels is counted as part of the second syllable. Most syllables end in vowels - "open syllable". - Examples:

  • teléfono [te-'lé-fo-no] - telephone
  • zapato [za-'pa-to] - shoe.

3. If there are two consecutive consonants, the first is added to the first syllable and the other to the second syllable. - Examples:

  • sustituir [sus-ti-'tuir] - to replace
  • puerta ['puer-ta] - door
  • huerto ['huer-to] - garden
  • cambio ['cam-bio] - change:

This also applies to the consonant plus h (example: deshidratado [des-hi-dra-'ta-do] - dried out) and cc lección [lec-'ción] - lesson. Exceptions: rule 4

4. The following pairs of consonants (consonant connections) are not written separately in two syllables:

  • ll and the following other consonant pairs with l: bl, cl, fl, gl, kl, pl - examples:
    • no bl e ['no-ble] - noble
    • redoblar
    • enci cl opédia [en-ci-clo-'pé-dia] - encyclopedia
    • declarar
    • incumplir
  • rr and the following further consonant pairs with r: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, kr, pr, tr - examples:
    • a rr oz [a-'rroz] - rice
    • hie rr o ['hie-rro] - iron
    • li br ería [li-bre-'rí-a] - bookstore
    • es dr újulo [es-'dru-ju-lo] - word stressed on the third from last syllable
    • in gr atitud [in-gra-ti-'tud] - ingratitude
    • im pr esora [im-pre-'so-ra] printer
    • cen tr al [cen-'tral] - headquarters
  • ch

The consonant pairs ch , ll and rr are not separated because they each count as one consonant. They also each have their own sound value. - Examples:

  • coche ['co-che] - car
  • calle ['ca-lle] - street
  • perro ['pe-rro] - dog.

All consonant pairs listed above always come at the beginning of a syllable.

5. If there are three consecutive consonants, the first two belong to the front syllable and the third to the back syllable. Exceptions: see rule 4 - inseparable groups of consonants: If the second and third consonants together form an inseparable group of consonants, then the syllable separation takes place between the first and second consonants of the group of three.

6. If there are four consecutive consonants, the first two belong to the front syllable and the last two to the back syllable. - Examples:

  • adscribir
  • abstracto [abs-'trac-to] - abstract.

7. In the case of compound words, there is a hyphenation if these words can also stand alone (example: matóle [mató + le] - he killed him). However, if that would lead to a separation of rr because the first word ends in r and the second word begins with r, rule 2 applies, according to which rr is never separated. However, rule 4 (inseparable consonant pairs) does not apply to compound words. - Examples:

  • ciber revolución
  • hiper-realismo
  • super rápido
  • inter-racial

But if the “r” is doubled precisely because of the preceding word, then “rr” is not separated. - Examples:

  • infra-rrojo (rojo - red)
  • vice-rrector (rector)

8. If there is an "h" before or after a consonant, then both letters together form a syllable.

9. A real prefix is ​​followed by a hyphenation if the rest of the word has a meaning on its own.

Hyphenation of vowels

(Section; emphasis on double vowels (diphthong, hiatus) and triphthong )

A diphthong is a combination of a weak and a strong vowel. Weak vowels are “i” and “u” in Spanish, while “a”, “e” and “o” are strong vowels. Usually diphthongs that contain a weak vowel (“i” and “u”) together with a strong vowel (“a”, “e” or “o”) are spoken as a monosyllabic vowel connection. However, if the weak vowel is to be emphasized, this must be indicated by an accent mark and it is then a two-syllable vowel connection (hiatus). If the weak vowel carries the tone, the diphthong dissolves and one speaks of a hiatus (span. Hiato ) - a vowel collision with a vowel on both sides of a syllable boundary.

The hyphenation of vowels follows the following rules:

1. There must be no hyphenation between two adjacent vowels ( diphthongs ) that form a syllable. Diphthongs are inseparable: ai, au, ei, eu, io, ou, ia, ua, ie, ue, oi, uo, ui, iu, ay, ey, oy. The same applies to three adjacent vowels ( triphthong ). Triphthongs are an inseparable unit between three vowels: iai, iei, uai, uei, uau, iau, uay, uey. They are in a common syllable, with the middle vowel being strong and the other two being weak. - Examples:

  • b uey ['buey] - ox
  • d ioi co ['dioi-co]
  • conf iái s [con-'fiáis] - you confide
  • g uau ['guau] ​​- woof, woof (of the dog)
  • aprec iéi s - [a-pre-ciéis] - you guess

2. An "h" inserted between two diphthong vowels does not cancel out a diphthong.

3. It is possible to separate between two vowels that belong to two different syllables ( hiatus ). A diphthong is canceled when the emphasis is on the weak vowel.

4. An "h" inserted between two vowels does not affect whether these vowels are a diphthong or a hiatus. - Examples:

  • desahucio [de-'sahu-cio] - eviction, eviction
  • prohibir [prohi-'bir] - forbid
  • ahijado [ahi-'ja-do] - adopted child, godson

Hyphenation at the end of the line

In addition to the descriptive hyphenation rules that are important for accented writing, the hyphenation rules are also used for word hyphenation at the end of a line. Additional rules must be observed in this regard.

Hyphenation at the end of a line can be done either at the end of a syllable or at the end of a word component of compound words. - Examples:

  • malinterpretar [ma-lin-ter-pre-'tar] or [mal-interpretar] - misunderstanding
  • desamparo [de-'sam-paro] or [des-amparo] - defenselessness, abandonment

A word whose first syllable consists of a single vowel is not separated after this syllable at the end of the line: for example, not [a-mistad] (a- / mistad), but only [amis-tad] (amis- / tad).

  • amistad [a-mis-'tad] - friendship

However, if this initial syllable, which only consists of a single vowel, is preceded by an “h” (which is voiceless in Spanish), then it can also be separated at the end of the line. Example: he- / rederos; herederos [he-re-'de-ros] - heirs.

As a rule, abbreviations at the end of the line are not cut off. Unless they are abbreviations that have become part of the general vocabulary. - Examples:

  • laser [la-'ser] - laser
  • ovnis ['ov-nis] - UFO

If compound words are separated at the end of the line that are written with a hyphen at the point of separation anyway, these words must also begin with a leading hyphen on the new line, except that there is a hyphen at the end of the line. - Examples:

  • crédito-vivienda (crédito- / -vivienda) - home loan:
  • teórico-práctico (teórico- / -práctico) - theoretical and practical

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See also