Does polish have a long or short vowel sound?

It's not quite that simple! Polish vowels can be both long and short depending on their position in a word and the surrounding sounds.

Here's a breakdown:

* Short vowels: Polish has 5 short vowel sounds: *i*, *e*, *a*, *o*, *u*. These typically occur in stressed syllables, especially when followed by a single consonant.

* Long vowels: These are represented by adding a diacritic "ą" or "ę" to the basic vowels *a* and *e* respectively. They also occur when a vowel is followed by two consonants, a consonant cluster, or is in a long syllable.

Examples:

* Short: *kot* (cat), *pies* (dog), *dom* (house)

* Long: *kąt* (angle), *ręka* (hand), *woda* (water)

Important Note: The length of a vowel in Polish can change the meaning of a word. For example, *dom* (house) is different from *dóm* (home).

In summary: While the basic vowels in Polish are *i*, *e*, *a*, *o*, *u*, they can be either long or short depending on context. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for accurate pronunciation and comprehension of the Polish language.