The colon (:) in front of some vowel sounds is called length mark; and it represents duration or length. In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. The colon (:) therefore, indicates that the vowel is a long sound.
The colon (:) in front of some vowel sounds is called length mark; and it represents duration or length. In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. The colon (:) therefore, indicates that the vowel is a long sound.