User:SpiralTurtle/Long vowel (English)

Long Vowel

In traditional descriptions of English orthography and phonics, the term "long vowel" refers to a set of sounds associated with the vowel letters, opposed to a differing "short" pronunciation. The two pronunciations of English vowel letters is a result of the Great Vowel Shift. While the distinction was originally one of vowel length, this is no longer true in Modern English, as the two sounds associated with the vowel letters have evolved to be different in many other features.

long and short values of simple vowels
The pronunciation of the long vowel is identical to the name of the vowel in modern English, with the exception of the letter 'y'.

Environments each value is used in
In general, the context of the surrounding letters determines which pronunciation a vowel letter takes. Vowel letters preceding a single consonant and a silent e are generally long; vowel letters preceding a doubled consonant or more than one consonant are generally short.