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Syllabic /l/

From Teflpedia

Syllabic /l/ is a syllabic consonant consisting of a dark l sound.

The IPA phonetic symbol [l̩][1] (lower case “L" with a small vertical line below) represents syllabic /l/, a syllable with no vowel (syllabic consonant), as in "people" [ˈpiːpl̩], "level" [ˈlevl̩] or “difficult" [ˈdɪfɪkl̩t]. In a broad notation [l̩] is /əl/: /ˈpiːpəl, ˈlevəl, ˈdɪfɪkəlt/. Some dictionaries write a superscript schwa letter as in /ˈpiːpəl, ˈlevəl, ˈdɪfɪkəlt/. Others write no vowel, and the reader has to deduce that /l/ is in a syllable with no vowels: /ˈpiːpl, ˈlevl/.[2]

Not all instances of /əl/ are pronounced [l̩]. For example, “several" is pronunced [ˈsevrəl].[3] In Teflpedia we are not concerned with details like this, and therefore we always use a broad notation: /əl/.

Common words[edit | edit source]

  • with "l": animal - financial - level - local - model - national [ˈnæʃ.ə.nl̩, ˈnæʃ.n̩.l̩, ˈnæʃ.nəl] - political - social - special - total - travel
  • with silent e: able - available - example - people - possible - table

[l̩] vs [əl][edit | edit source]

Below we can see the pronunciation of /əl/ depending on the previous consonant according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD),[4] Collins Dictionary for British English (CD-BE),[5] and Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary (MWLD) for American English.[6] Note that OALD uses [l] instead of [ḷ] or [əl].

Consonant Example OALD CD-BE MWLD
/t/ little [ˈlɪtl] [ˈlɪtəl] [ˈlɪtl̟]
/d/ middle [ˈmɪdl] [ˈmɪdəl] [ˈmɪdl̟]
/n/ final [ˈfaɪnl] [ˈfaɪnəl] [ˈfaɪnl̟]
/p/ people [ˈpiːpl] [ˈpiːpəl] [ˈpiːpəl]
/b/ bubble [ˈbʌbl] [ˈbʌbəl] [ˈbʌbəl]
/g/ legal [ˈliːɡl] [ˈliːɡəl] [ˈliːgəl]
/v/ travel [ˈtrævl] [ˈtrævəl] [ˈtrævəl]
/s/ pencil [ˈpensl] [ˈpɛnsəl] [ˈpɛnsəl]
/z/ nasal [ˈneɪzl] [ˈneɪzəl] [ˈneɪzəl]
/m/ animal, normal [ˈænɪml], [ˈnɔːml, ˈnɔːrml] [ˈænɪməl], [ˈnɔːməl] [ˈænəməl], [ˈnoɚməl]
/k/ cycle, difficult [ˈsaɪkl], [ˈdɪfɪkəlt ] [ˈsaɪkəl], [ˈdɪfɪkəlt] [ˈsaɪkəl], [ˈdɪfɪkəlt]
/f/ rifle, beautiful [ˈraɪfl], [ˈbjuːtɪfl] [ˈraɪfəl], [ˈbjuːtɪfʊl] [ˈraɪfəl], [ˈbjuːtɪfəl]
/θ/ lethal [ˈliːθl] [ˈliːθəl] [ˈliːθəl]
/ʃ/ social [ˈsəʊʃl, ˈsoʊʃl] [ˈsəʊʃəl] [ˈsoʊʃəl]
/dʒ/ angel [ˈeɪndʒl] [ˈeɪndʒəl] [ˈeɪnʤəl]
/tʃ satchel [ˈsætʃəl] [ˈsætʃəl] [ˈsætʃəl]
/r/ moral [ˈmɒrəl, ˈmɔːrəl, ˈmɑːrəl] [ˈmɒrəl] [ˈmorəl]
/j/ filial [ˈfɪliːəl, ˈfɪlɪəl] [ˈfɪljəl] [ˈfɪlijəl]
/w/ equal [ˈiːkwəl] [ˈiːkwəl] [ˈiːkwəl]

Unicode and HTML[edit | edit source]

Unicode: U+0329 Combining vertical line below

HTML:

Hexadecimal: l̩
Decimal: l̩

References[edit | edit source]

  1. For technical reasons double brackets appear on the page title.
  2. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionaries, people (noun): ˈpiːpl.
  3. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, several (determiner): ˈsevrəl.
  4. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries
  5. Collins English Dictionary
  6. Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary