The vowel quality of certain words changes with affixation. This occurs with words that end with a high front tense vowel. In certain words, the vowel becomes a high front lax vowel or a schwa. However, in others it remains the same.
The high front vowel changes in the following words:
beauty beautiful
fancy fanciful
mercy merciful
pity pitiful
plenty plentiful
happy happily
lucky luckily
merry merrily
noisy noisily
ordinary ordinarily
The high front vowel does not change in the following words:
arbitrary arbitrariness
happy happiness
holy holiness
likely likeliness
lonely loneliness
early earlier
easy easier
friendly friendlier
spicy spicier
wealthy wealthier
No rule can predict whether the vowel quality will change or remain the same in the affixed forms. However, with the comparative, it is clear that the vowel quality must remain the same because the comparative affix has a schwa. Since the schwa never precedes an adjacent schwa, the vowel quality does not change.
In cetain cases, the vowel quality of affixed forms changes. It can be considered a form of vowel weakening or lenition. The weakened vowel is either a high front lax urnounded vowel or a schwa.
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