Hi, I have begun to learn Czech, and there is something which I don't understand about pronounciation. Most books say that short 'i/y' is pronounced roughly like the 'i' in 'tick', and I found this to be true when hearing natives talk. However, the same books tell us that long 'i/y' is pronounced exactly the same but 2 times longer. But when I hear someone czech speak, I hear more of a 'sheep' kind of sound, that is, not the soft 'i' typical from english, but more the classic spanish/italian 'i'. Can someone throw some light over this? Are short and long 'i/y' exactly the same sound with different sound or does the sound change a little bit? p.s. For 'a','e','o','u' I hear only a length difference, but not for 'i'. Thanks in advance.
