The five long vowels are different from the six short vowels described in Chapter 2, not only in
length but also in quality. If we compare some similar pairs of long and short vowels, for
example with , or with , or with , we can see distinct differences in quality (resulting
from differences in tongue shape and position, and lip position) as well as in length. For this
reason, all the long vowels have symbols which are different from those of short vowels; you can
see that the long and short vowel symbols would still all be different from each other even if we
omitted the length mark, so it is important to remember that the length mark is used not because
it is essential but because it helps learners to remember the length difference. Perhaps the only
case where a long and a short vowel are closely similar in quality is that of and but is a
special case - as we shall see later.