| Voiced velar lateral approximant | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ʟ | |||
| IPA number | 158 | ||
| Audio sample | |||
| Encoding | |||
| Entity(decimal) | ʟ | ||
| Unicode(hex) | U+029F | ||
| X-SAMPA | L\ | ||
| Braille |   | ||
| |||
| Voiced velar lateral tap | |
|---|---|
| ʟ̆ | |
| Audio sample | |
| Encoding | |
| X-SAMPA | L\_X |
| Voiced uvular lateral approximant | |
|---|---|
| ʟ̠ | |
| IPA number | 158 414 |
| Audio sample | |
| Encoding | |
| X-SAMPA | L\_- |
Avoiced velar lateral approximant is a type ofconsonantal sound, used as a distinct consonant in a very small number[1] ofspokenlanguages in the world. The symbol in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet that has represented this sound since 1989 is ⟨ʟ⟩, asmall capital letterl.
Velar laterals often involve aprestopped realization[ᶢʟ].[2]
According toLadefoged & Maddieson (1996), the extremely short duration of/ʟ/ in intervocalic position (20–30ms) in some of the languages inNew Guinea, such asKanite andMelpa, warrants calling it avoiced velar lateral tap. The IPA has no specific symbol for this sound, but it may be represented with a breve forextra-short, such as ⟨ʟ̆⟩, to indicate a tapped consonant.
It is reported that some dialects of English may have avoiced uvular lateral approximant,[3] which can be represented in the IPA as ⟨ʟ̠⟩ (aretracted ⟨ʟ⟩), though evidence of this consonant is limited.
Features of a voiced velar lateral approximant:
A velar lateral[ʟ] involves no contact of thetip of the tongue with the roof of the mouth: just like for a velar stop[ɡ], the only contact takes place between theback of the tongue and thevelum. This contrasts with avelarized alveolar lateral approximant[ɫ] – also known as the darkl in Englishfeel[fiːɫ] – for which the apex touches thealveolar ridge.[4]
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Southern US[5] | middle | [ˈmɪɾʟ̩] | 'middle' | May occur before or after avelar consonant, as inmilk andcycle, when assimilating /ʊ/, as inwolf, or beforelabial consonants, as inhelp. SeeEnglish phonology |
| full | [ˈfʟ̩ː] | 'full' | |||
| Franco-Provençal[6] | grêlon | [ˈɡriʟœ] | 'hailstone' | Valais dialects | |
| Hiw[7] | r̄evr̄ov | [ɡ͡ʟəβˈɡ͡ʟɔβ] | 'evening' | May be realized asprestopped[ᶢʟ], affricate[ɡʟ̝], orlaterally released stop[ɡᶫ]. | |
| Melpa[8] | paⱡa | [paᶢʟa]ⓘ | 'fence' | May be realized asprestopped[ᶢʟ] or tapped[ʟ̆]. | |
| Mid-Wahgi[9] | aglagle | [aʟaʟe] | 'dizzy' | May be realized asprestopped[ᶢʟ]. | |
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | SomeAmerican speakers[3] | wool | [wʊʟ̠] | 'wool' | May bevelar or simplyalveolar instead. SeeEnglish phonology. |
