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English Pronunciation Tip of the Day

Tip 15

Category: Miscellaneous
Author: JAM

Clear and dark l

In many varieties of English there are two quite different l sounds. The difference between them is the position of the back part of the tongue.

The first variety is known as clear l and is symbolised as [l]. For this the back part of the tongue is low. Listen to the first sound in:

The second variety is known as dark l or velarised l and is symbolised as [5]. For this the back part of the tongue is raised towards the roof of the mouth. Listen to the final sound in:

Clear l is used when the following sound is a vowel or [j]. Dark l is used when a consonant (other than [j]) or silence follows. Here are some more examples:

The tip of the tongue is in the same position, contacting the alveolar ridge (behind the upper front teeth) for both of these sounds. You can look at some pictures of clear and dark l at

http://www.icsl.ucla.edu/~spapl/projects/mripix/figg3.html