Here's why:
* The vowel 'a' in "mall" is followed by two consonants ('l' and 'l'). This is a common pattern in English words that indicates a short vowel sound.
* The sound of 'a' in "mall" is similar to the 'a' in words like "cat," "hat," and "man." These words also have short vowel sounds.
So, the sound of "mall" is not like the long "a" sound in words like "male" or "mail."