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Velarised alveolar lateral approximant

From Teflpedia

The velarised alveolar lateral approximant is an approximant consonant sound found in English.

This is commonly known as a dark l to distinguish it from light l.

The IPA phonetic symbol [ɫ] represents a velarised alveolar lateral approximant, like deal /diːl/ [diːɫ] or scale /skeɪl/ [skeɪɫ].

In natural speech, /l/ at the end of a syllable or before a consonant may be velarised.[1] Some pronunciation coaches call it “dark L.” When a native speaker makes a “dark L", the back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate.

This sound is also present in Polish mały [ˈmaɫi] (some accents), and it is slightly different from the one in mali [ˈmali].

Speakers with Estuary English tend not to make this sound but substitute /w/ instead.

It’s represented in IPA by the symbol L with middle tilde.

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Velarization.