Rules
To determine the position of the stress of Latin terms:
- Vowels followed by two consonants are generally stressed. Thus Po-ten-tíl-la, as the I is followed by a double L.
- Diphthongs are to be stressed, too. Thus Al-tháe-a, as AE is a diphthong.
A word is normally stressed on the first syllable, unless there is a reason to put the stress somewhere else.
The "reason" is either suffixes (like -ity and -ion) or prefixes (like con-, dis-, ex- and in-).
If the suffix (ending) starts with the letters i or u, this will affect the position of stress in a word. Sample suffixes: -ion, -ual, -ial, -ient, -ious, -ior, -ic, -ity, etc. The stress comes on the syllable before the suffix. Examples: Atlantic, comic, sufficient, explanation, residual. There are only a very few exceptions to this rule.
Other suffixes do not affect the stress of a word. Sample suffixes: -al, -ous, -ly, -er, -ed, -ist, -ing, -ment Examples: permanent, permanently, develop, development
► Prefixes are not normally stressed in two-syllable words, except in some nouns or adjectives. Examples: To ex'pand, to de'fend; but an 'expert, a report. Disyllabic nouns starting with a prefix need to be learned individually.
► Prefixes are usually stressed in three-syllable nouns and adjectives, but not always stressed in verbs. Examples: 'Continent, 'incident, 'exercise; to con'sider, to en'visage but to 'indicate (All three-syllable verbs ending in -ate are stressed on the first syllable).
Rule 3 takes priority over all others, notably when a "rule 3 ending" is followed by a "rule 4 ending". Examples: perpetually, deliciously, conditional, conditioner, illusionist.
Read more about this topic: Syllable Stress Of Botanical Latin
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“As no one can tell what was the Roman pronunciation, each nation makes the Latin conform, for the most part, to the rules of its own language; so that with us of the vowels only A has a peculiar sound.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)