Nowadays, the distinction between long and short vowels in English is actually more than just length because of the Great Vowel Shift.

Incidentally, we have this vowel shift to thank for some of the difficulties of English spelling, since some letters were assigned before the vowels changed. From Ann Thulin ...

Grammar geeks, rejoice! This is the fascinating history behind every single letter of the English alphabet.

Zolak, whose mother was a middle school English teacher, remained adamant that "Y" is not a vowel, even in the face of overwhelming evidence against him. "It's not a vowel.