Voiced velar lateral approximant
Consonantal sound represented by ⟨ʟ⟩ in IPA
| Voiced velar lateral tap | |
|---|---|
| ʟ̆ | |
| ʟ̮ | |
| Encoding | |
| X-SAMPA | L\_X |
| Voiced uvular lateral approximant | |
|---|---|
| ʟ̠ | |
| IPA number | 158 414 |
| Audio sample | |
| source · help | |
| Encoding | |
| X-SAMPA | L\_- |
A voiced velar lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used as a distinct consonant in a very small number of spoken languages in the world. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that has represented this sound since 1989 is ⟨ʟ⟩, a small capital letter l.
Velar laterals often involve a prestopped realization [ᶢʟ].
According to Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), the extremely short duration of /ʟ/ in intervocalic position (20-30 ms) in some of the languages in New Guinea, such as Kanite and Melpa, warrants calling it a voiced velar lateral tap. The IPA has no specific symbol for this sound, but it may be represented with a breve for extra-short, such as ⟨ʟ̆⟩, to indicate a tapped consonant.
It is reported that some dialects of English may have a voiced uvular lateral approximant, which can be represented in the IPA as ⟨ʟ̠⟩ (a retracted ⟨ʟ⟩), though evidence of this consonant is limited.
01Features
Features of a voiced velar lateral approximant:
- Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but not enough to produce a turbulent airstream.
- Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
- Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
- It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
- 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.
- Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most speech sounds.
A velar lateral [ʟ] involves no contact of the tip of the tongue with the roof of the mouth: just like for a velar stop [ɡ], the only contact takes place between the back of the tongue and the velum. This contrasts with a velarized alveolar lateral approximant [ɫ], also known as the dark l in English feel [fiːɫ], for which the apex touches the alveolar ridge.
02Occurrence
Velar
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Southern US | middle | [ˈmɪɾʟ̩] | 'middle' | May occur before or after a velar consonant, as in milk and cycle, when assimilating /ʊ/, as in wolf, or before labial consonants, as in help. More often realized as [ɫ]. See English phonology |
| full | [ˈfʟ̩ː] | 'full' | |||
| Hiw | r̄evr̄ov | [ɡ͡ʟəβˈɡ͡ʟɔβ] | 'evening' | May be realized as prestopped [ᶢʟ], affricate [ɡʟ̝], or laterally released stop [ɡᶫ]. | |
| Kanite | kala | [kaʟ̆a] | 'dog' | May be realized as an affricate [ɡʟ̝] or a tap [ʟ̆]. | |
| Melpa | paⱡa | [paᶢʟa]ⓘ | 'fence' | May be realized as prestopped [ᶢʟ] or tapped [ʟ̆]. | |
| Mid-Wahgi | aglagle | [aʟaʟe] | 'dizzy' | May be realized as prestopped [ᶢʟ]. | |
Uvular
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Voiced velar lateral approximant”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- IPA Unicode 0x029F.svg by No machine-readable author provided. Martin Kozák assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain
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