What is the difference between long vowel sounds and short vowel sounds?

Answer 1

Although it is complicated by various pronunciations, a "long" vowel sound is one where you hear the name of the letter: A (ay), E (ee), I (eye), or O (oh). The long U may be a long OO (dune) or a long YOO sound (cute, fuel, unit).

The short vowels have an h-like exhalation following them, as in ah, eh, ih, and uh.

(The short OO has an oo-uh sound as in good and put.)

--

Long and short Vowel Sounds

long A - day, paid, name

long E - we, seed, bean

long I - lie, fine, sigh

long O - bowl, comb, low, sew

long U (oo or yoo) - cool, moon, suit / cute, fuel, unit

short A - apple, bad, last,

short E - bed, get, head

short I - did, pin, sit

short O - body, cop, hot

short U - cut, dumb, flood

short OO - good, foot, could, put

Other Vowel Sounds (according to one classification scheme)

R-shaped A - car, star

R-shaped I (usually considered long E) - near, pier

AW/OR (may include long O words in British English) - saw, lawn, caught / horse, court

R-shaped U - bird, her, heard, purr, urge

* R-shaped long A - air, fair

OI (oy)- boy, noise, point

AU (ow) - cow, sound, out

Schwa sound (eh/uh) - unstressed sound like A in about or sofa, E in system

*Schwa R sound (er/ur) - A in cedar, E in water

Answer 2

Long vowel sounds are pronounced for a longer duration and are the same as the name of the vowel (e.g. "cake" - the "a" sounds like the name of the letter). Short vowel sounds are pronounced for a shorter duration and often differ from the name of the vowel (e.g. "cat" - the "a" sounds like "uh").