pronunciation - Why A is pronounced differently in "opacity" and "opaque"


When I look at pronunciation guides for opacity and opaque I see the following:



opaque: oh-peyk (a hard A)


opacity: oh-pas-i-tee (a soft A)



Since their root seems to be the Latin opācus, why do they have different pronunciations?


Aside, I've been pronouncing opacity as oh-pey-si-tee (hard A) for most of my life, so I'm a little embarrassed.



Answer



The root word and its derivatives don't share the same stress pattern, unless the latter is -ful, -ness, etc.


unique, boutique, technique, baroque, oblique, etc--all these words have a specific pattern.


V+que pattern:



  • o+que > OH

  • i+que > EE

  • a+que > AY


VC+que pattern: you don't hear the above set of vowels in this case. Instead, you hear CAT, BOT, BET, BUT, BIT vowels, because the stressed syllable is closed.


In -ty pattern, the stress falls on the antipenult (third vowel from the right).


In 'opacity', the stress falls on the third from the right, which is 'a'. Since it is stressed, it attracts a coda consonant, making it a closed syllable.


o-PAC-i-ty: CAT Vowel, instead of GATE vowel in opaque.


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