 However, in foreign loanwords katakana instead uses a vowel extender mark, called a "chōonpu" ("long vowel mark").This is a short line (ー) following the direction of the text, horizontal for "yokogaki" (horizontal text), and vertical for "tategaki" (vertical text).For example, メール "mēru" is the "gairaigo" for e-mail taken from the English word "mail"; the ー lengthens the "e".