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Saka as in 酒場{さかば} or zaka as in 居酒屋{いざかや}

Sake as in 酒{さけ}

will
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  • I think you mistyped the furigana there in 酒場（さかば） – sazarando Oct 13 '16 at 05:21
  • Oops you are right. I have edited it. Thanks. – will Oct 13 '16 at 05:22
  • I think you can find a good answer here: http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/2526/rules-or-criteria-for-%E9%80%A3%E6%BF%81-voiced-or-unvoiced-syllables-in-compound-words – sazarando Oct 13 '16 at 05:25
  • I do understand the need for 連濁 but isn't 連濁 for the beginning of the first consonant of the latter component? – will Oct 13 '16 at 05:31
  • Are you asking about the difference between saka and zaka, or the difference between sake and saka? – sazarando Oct 13 '16 at 05:32
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    The latter. I have edited the question to make it clearer. Sorry if it was unclear. – will Oct 13 '16 at 05:34

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The difference between さか and ざか is just one of rendaku, which I think is well discussed here: Rules or criteria for 連濁: Voiced or unvoiced syllables in compound words

The reason that 酒{さけ} becomes 酒{さか} in some cases is not really directly related to rendaku（連濁）rather this is called ten'on（転音）.

Just as a short answer, some words, when part of a compound word, will have a change in the vowel sound of the final syllable/mora.

This change seems to sometimes carry the implication of「何々の為の何々」.

え turning into あ:

  • 酒{さけ}の場{ば} ⇒ 酒場{さかば}
  • 手{て}の綱{つな} ⇒ 手綱{たづな}
  • 雨{あめ}の戸{と} ⇒ 雨戸{あまど}

い turning into う

  • 神{かみ}の主{ぬし} ⇒ 神主{かむぬし} ⇒ 神主{かんぬし}
  • 口{くち}の輪{わ} ⇒ 轡{くつわ}

い turning into お

  • 木の陰　木陰

You can see other examples here: http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q12109076097

The best Japanese reference I can find that really concisely outlines what's going on with さけ・ざけ・さか・ざか is this one here: http://www.nihongokyoshi.co.jp/manbow/manbow.php?id=845&TAB=2

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sazarando
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    The historical evidence actually suggests the opposite -- the original form was `/saka/`, while `/sake/` was a later innovation. Some writers (possibly including Shibatani in his [*The Languages of Japan*](https://books.google.com/books?id=sD-MFTUiPYgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false)) suggest that the vowels were fronted (`/a/` → `/e/`, `/o/` or `/u/` → `/i/`) through a fusion with the ancient emphatic nominal particle い{i}. I've also read somewhere that Ainu *kamuy* is possible evidence of this: ancient *kamu* + *i* → *kamui*, then the final *-ui* becoming *-i* in modern *kami*. – Eiríkr Útlendi Oct 13 '16 at 08:16
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    So too with *saka* + *i* → *sakai* → *sake*. We see similar monophthongization (where two-vowel sounds become one-vowel sounds) in modern slangy Japanese, such as *sugoi* becoming *sugē*, *takai* becoming *takē*, etc. – Eiríkr Útlendi Oct 13 '16 at 08:18