What do the symbols for long a and short look like?

You're asking about the symbols for long and short vowel sounds, and it's important to remember that these are not standard symbols used in written English. We use letters like "a," "e," "i," "o," and "u" to represent vowels, but the actual sound they make depends on the context of the word.

Here's how we usually show long and short vowel sounds in phonetic transcription, which uses a more standardized set of symbols:

Long Vowel Symbols:

* Long A: /eɪ/ (as in "say")

* Long E: /iː/ (as in "see")

* Long I: /aɪ/ (as in "my")

* Long O: /oʊ/ (as in "go")

* Long U: /uː/ (as in "you")

Short Vowel Symbols:

* Short A: /æ/ (as in "cat")

* Short E: /ɛ/ (as in "bed")

* Short I: /ɪ/ (as in "big")

* Short O: /ɑ/ (as in "hot")

* Short U: /ʌ/ (as in "cup")

Important Notes:

* These phonetic symbols are used in dictionaries and linguistics. You might see them if you're studying phonetics or a related field.

* There are other ways to mark long and short vowels in written English, such as putting a macron (¯) over the vowel for long sounds or doubling the vowel (like "ee" for long "e"). These are not universally used, though.

Let me know if you'd like a more specific example or have another question!