In a number of languages, including most varieties of English, the phoneme /l/ becomes
velarized ("
dark l") in certain contexts. By contrast, the non-velarized form is the "clear l" (also known as: "light l"), which occurs before and between vowels in certain English standards.[1] Some languages have only clear l.[2] Others may not have a clear l at all, or have them only before
front vowels (especially [
i]).
Features
Features of the voiced alveolar lateral approximant:
Dental, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the upper
teeth, termed respectively apical and laminal.
Denti-alveolar, which means it is articulated with the blade of the tongue at the
alveolar ridge, and the tip of the tongue behind upper teeth.
Alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
Postalveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
Its
phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
It is an
oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
It is a
lateral consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, rather than down the middle.
Languages may have clear apical or laminal alveolars, laminal denti-alveolars (such as French), or true dentals, which are uncommon. Laminal denti-alveolars tend to occur in
continental European languages.[3] However, a true dental generally occurs
allophonically before /θ/ in languages that have it, as in English health.
Varies between dental and alveolar in initial position, whereas the postvocalic /l/ may be postalveolar, especially after back vowels.[43] See
Faroese phonology
In process of changing from laminal denti-alveolar to apical alveolar, but the laminal denti-alveolar is still possible in some environments, and is obligatory after /n,t,d/.[46] See
Norwegian phonology
The voicedvelarized alveolar approximant (
a.k.a. dark l) is a type of
consonantal sound used in some languages. It is an alveolar, denti-alveolar, or dental lateral approximant, with a
secondary articulation of
velarization or
pharyngealization. The regular symbols in the
International Phonetic Alphabet that represent this sound are ⟨lˠ⟩ (for a velarized lateral) and ⟨lˤ⟩ (for a pharyngealized lateral), though the dedicated letter ⟨ɫ⟩, which covers both velarization and pharyngealization, is perhaps more common. The latter should not be confused with belted ⟨ɬ⟩, which represents the
voiceless alveolar lateral fricative. However, some scholars use that symbol to represent the velarized alveolar lateral approximant anyway[53] – though such usage is considered non-standard.
If the sound is dental or denti-alveolar, one could use a
dental diacritic to indicate so: ⟨l̪ˠ⟩, ⟨l̪ˤ⟩, ⟨ɫ̪⟩.
Velarization and pharyngealization are generally associated with more dental articulations of
coronal consonants, so dark l tends to be dental or denti-alveolar. Clear (non-velarized) l tends to be
retracted to an alveolar position.[54]
Dental, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the upper
teeth.
Denti-alveolar, which means it is articulated with the blade of the tongue at the
alveolar ridge, and the tip of the tongue behind upper teeth.
Alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or, more rarely,[54] the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
Postalveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
Laminal denti-alveolar. Allophone of /l/ after /ɔ,oː,ɑ,ɑː/, and sometimes also after /u,uː/.[11] However, according to
Endresen (1990), this allophone is not velarized.[61] See
Norwegian phonology
Laminal; pharyngealized in northern accents, velarized or post-palatalised in southern accents. It is an allophone of /l/ before consonants and pauses, and also prevocalically when after the open back vowels /ɔ,ɑ/. Many northern speakers realize the final /l/ as a strongly pharyngealised vocoid [ɤˤ], whereas some Standard
Belgian speakers use the clear /l/ in all positions.[68] See
Dutch phonology
When [lˠ~lʶ~lˤ~lˀ],[79] most often dental.
Coda is now
vocalized to [
u̯~ʊ̯ in most of Brazil (as in EP in rural parts of
Alto Minho and
Madeira).[80] Stigmatized realizations such as [
ɾ~ɽ~ɻ, the /ʁ/ range, [
j] and even [∅] (
zero) are some other coda allophones typical of Brazil.[81] See
Portuguese phonology
^Adjaye, Sophia (2005).
Ghanaian English Pronunciation. Edwin Mellen Press. p. 198.
ISBN978-0-7734-6208-3. realization of /l/ is similar to that of
RP: a 'clear' or non-velarized /l/ = [l] pre-vocalically and intervocalically; and a 'dark' or velarized /l/ = [ɫ] pre-consonantally and pre-
pausally
^Celce-Murcia, Marianne; et al. (2010).
Teaching Pronunciation. Cambridge U. Press. p. 84.
ISBN978-0-521-72975-8. the light /l/ used in all environments in [standard] German (e.g., Licht "light," viel "much, many") or in French (e.g., lit "bed", île "island")
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