![]() ![]() Very few languages distinguish three phonemic vowel lengths, such as Estonian, Luiseño, and Mixe. Languages that do distinguish vowel length phonemically usually only distinguish between short vowels and long vowels. Many languages do not distinguish vowel length phonemically, meaning that vowel length does not change meaning, and the length of a vowel is conditioned by other factors such as the phonetic characteristics of the sounds around it, for instance whether the vowel is followed by a voiced or a voiceless consonant. It also plays a lesser phonetic role in Cantonese, unlike in other varieties of Chinese. While vowel length alone does not change word meaning in most dialects of English, it is said to do so in a few dialects, such as Australian English, Lunenburg English, New Zealand English, and South African English. In some languages vowel length is an important phonemic factor, meaning vowel length can change the meaning of the word, for example in: Arabic, Estonian, Finnish, Fijian, Japanese, Kannada, Kyrgyz, Latin, Malayalam, Old English, Scottish Gaelic, and Vietnamese. ![]() In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived length of a vowel sound: the corresponding physical measurement is duration. ![]() Wikipedia Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes ![]()
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