The Truth About Vowel Length in English Pronunciation

追加: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Even though it's common practice in schools across the US and English programs around the world, you'll never hear me label vowel sounds as long or short.

[00:00:11]Why? Because it's confusing and misleading.

[00:00:15]Here's the truth. Any vowel sound can be long or short depending on stress.

[00:00:22]When a syllable is stressed, we spend more time on the vowel sound. It's longer. When a syllable is unstressed, the vowel sound is quicker, sometimes even reduced or weak.

[00:00:34]So, vowel length has nothing to do with the letters a, e, i, o, and u or the sounds these letters may represent.

[00:00:43]Instead, it's all about where the emphasis goes.