![]() ![]() Often we use vowel combinations like ai, ee, ea, ie, oa, oo, oe and ue. Since we only have five vowel letters, but we have 20 vowel sounds, we have to use syllable position and letter-combining to get a bit of clarity around which sounds we mean. We actually have six of them, the other one being "u/oo" as in "put" or "good". In linguistics, they are called "checked" vowels. The "short" vowel sounds cannot occur at the end of a syllable in English. Why people think "short" vowels are short However, children will often hear the "y" and want to write it, and teachers need to know that it's not a figment of childish imaginations, there really is a "y" sound in "new" (unless you speak American English). Which part of the letter "u" in "human" is representing the "y" sound, and which part the "ooh"? For learning-spelling purposes it's counterproductive to slice it so finely. The sound "u" as in "human" is actually a consonant-vowel combination ("y" as in "yes" plus "u" as in "hula"), which makes sense of the spelling of "you", but not most of its other spellings. The long" vowel "e" as in "be" is a pure vowel, but "i" as in "find" and "o" as in "go" are both diphthongs. The same goes for the other "short-long" pairs. "A" as in "cat" is a low front pure vowel, and "a" as in paper is a diphthong (two vowels run together) which moves from low to high in the front of the mouth. If you stretch out an "a" as in cat, you don't get an "a" as in paper. ![]() These vowels are not short and long versions of each other. The terms "short" and "long" are misleading and confusing. The spoken versions don't just differ by length, and the written words with "short" vowels are actually longer, due to their double letters. Try saying "capped-caped", "dinner-diner", "bellow-below" (stressing both syllables in "below"), hopping-hoping and "cutter-cuter". "u" spelt as in "us e", "f ew", "c ue", "f eud", " you", "b eauty", "n uisance", " ewe", "vac uum". "o" spelt as in "h om e", "b oat", "g oes", "gl ow", "plat eau", "m ould", "m auve", "th ough", "f olk", "br ooch", " owe", "s ew" and "Ren ault". "i" spelt as in "l ik e", "b y", "p ie", "h igh", "t yp e", "b ye", "bons ai", "f eisty", "h eight", "k ayak", " eye", " iron", "t ae kwondo", and "n aive". "e" spelt as in "b ee", " eat", "f ield", "th es e", "sk i", "funn y", "turk ey", "prot ein", "mar in e", "p aediatric", and "am oeba", "a" spelt as in "m ak e", "r ain", "s ay", "th ey", " eight", "v ein", "br eak", "f et e", "caf e", "pur ee", "sund ae", "g auge", "g aol", and "str aight". "u" spelt as in "fr ont", "y oung", "bl ood", and "d oes".įollowing the same logic, the following are also "long" vowels: "o" spelt as in "w ant", "bec ause", and " entree", "i" spelt as in "g ym", "pr etty", "b usy", "s ieve", and "w omen", "e" spelt as in "br ead", "s aid", "s ays", " any", "l eopard", "h eifer", "fr iend", and "b ury", "a" spelt as in "pl ait", "s almon", and "F ahrenheit", If "short" vowels are sounds (regardless of spelling), then the following are short vowels too: The five vowels usually called "long", and which children are told "say their (letter) name", are:īut are we talking about sounds here, or particular spellings of these sounds? The five vowels usually called "short" are: Phonics teaching materials often talk about "short" and "long" vowels, as though the latter are just extended versions of the former. What’s the difference between short and long vowels? 20 Replies ![]()
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