Infantulus - Alphabet & Pronunciation - Vowels (con'd)

Salvēte, Discipulī, (Hello, Students),
Here again are the first three questions and answers of the first level, along with the fourth:

Q: What are the Latin vowels?

a, e, i, o, u, and y. The rest are consonants.

Q: How do they sound when short?

a sounds like the “ah” in aha,
e like the “eh” in met,
i like the “i” in bit,
o like the “oh” in omit,
u like the “oo” in foot, and
y like the “y” in Syrius. [like German ü; form lips for oo but say ee].

Q: A vowel is short before what letters?

A vowel is short before nd, nt, h, or another vowel. A vowel is also short before final m or t and, in multi-syllable words, l or r.

Q: Long vowels are marked by macrons. How do they sound?

ā (“a-macron”) sounds like the “aah” in father,
ē like the “ey” in they,
ī like the “ee” in machine,
ō like the “oh” in note,
ū like the “ooo” in rule, and
ŷ like “yy.” [like y, above, but held twice as long].

So, when we read dēscendendī, the word used to help describe the only way which Winnie Ille Pu knows of coming downstairs, we know that the first e is pronounced long like the "ey" in they while the other two are short like the "eh" in met, and that the final i is pronounced long like the i in machine.

There's that y vowel again, this time new and improved, longer lasting than before. Get it right now, of course, but don't be surprised if it gathers a bit of dust before you get a chance to use it.