What are long and short vowel sounds?

Answer 1

There are more than just 2 vowel sounds for some vowels in English. But the common ones are called "long" and "short" based on whether they are enunciated, that is, whether you hear the "name" of the vowel.

For long vowels, this is often apparent.

The long A sound "ay" is heard in bay, base, and bail.

*(This can be different in words with /ar/ - see below)

The long E sound "ee" is heard in be, beat, and the Y in baby.

The long I sound is heard in high, bite, and the Y in cry.

The long O sound is heard in go, slow, and though.

Sources differ on whether the long U is the YOO sound heard in uniform and cute, or if it is the same as the long OO heard in boot, chute, and Flute. Most consider the long U and long OO to be the same sound, and the YOO to be the variant that contains a consonant Y known as a glide.

For short vowels, the question may be whether the sound is stressed or not.

The short A (ah) is heard in cat and apple.

The short E (eh) is heard in sent and let.

The short I (ih) is heard in bit, him, and win.

The short O (aah) is heard in body, dot, and fond.

The short U (uh) is heard in bud, fun, and hub.

An unstressed eh, ih, or uh is called a "schwa" (represented by the symbol ).

Other sounds that may be considered neither long or short:

-- the OI (oy) diphthong as in coin and point

-- the "umlaut A" seen in words spelled with AR (sounds like the letter R)

-- the "caret A" where a long A is followed by R (sounds like AYR or air)

-- the "caret O" or AW sound, which appears in British English where the R is not sounded, mostly in words spelled with OR.

Answer 2

Long vowel sounds are pronounced the same as the name of the letter, such as the "a" in "cake." Short vowel sounds are pronounced more quickly and with a closed mouth, like the "a" in "cat."