L (letter): Difference between revisions
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In '''sátellîte''' it is the '''l''', not the first '''t''', which is doubled, and in '''párallel''' it is the first '''l''' - not the '''r''' or the second '''l''', as one might expect. | In '''sátellîte''' it is the '''l''', not the first '''t''', which is doubled, and in '''párallel''' it is the first '''l''' - not the '''r''' or the second '''l''', as one might expect. | ||
'''l''' is single after a two-letter vowel: cråwl, foôl, rêal, fòul horrible = fòwl ''bird'', håul, sôul ''spirit'' (= sôle ''only, fish''). | '''l''' is single after a two-letter vowel: '''cråwl, foôl, rêal, fòul''' ''horrible'' = '''fòwl''' ''bird'', '''håul, sôul''' ''spirit'' (= '''sôle''' ''only, fish''). | ||
There are actually two l sounds: | There are actually two '''l''' sounds: two '''l''' [[allophones]] form the '''l''' [[phoneme]]. Initial '''l''' is called light '''l''', while dark '''l''' is found in final position, or before another consonant. Light '''l''' is pronounced more in the front of the mouth, with the tip of the tongue (as '''l''' is always pronounced in French, Italian, Spanish and German); dark '''l''' is pronounced with the middle of the mouth and tongue (but not, except in the Cockney accent, virtually as a 'w' as in Portuguese) and lasts longer: | ||
Light l (beginning a syllable): prelíminary, lîght, clínk, líp, allót, flíp, alône, slêek. | |||
Light '''l (beginning a syllable): prelíminary, lîght, clínk, líp, allót, flíp, alône, slêek. | |||
Dark l (ending a syllable): ålways, stíll, élse, ålso, dóll, fåll, ålter, fåult, píll, cråwl. | Dark l (ending a syllable): ålways, stíll, élse, ålso, dóll, fåll, ålter, fåult, píll, cråwl. | ||
Revision as of 18:30, 18 December 2008
L is the twelfth letter of the English alphabet. Its name is pronounced 'el'.
L is also the Roman numeral representing the number 50.
Use in English
l is a liquid sound: the tongue touches the top of the mouth behind the teeth. Examples (the accents show stress and pronunciation: see English phonemes): lâke, lít, lót, lúng, lòunge, ålways, Álice, alîve, alône, alàrm, lêek vegetable = lêak water, lāst.
l begins consonant clusters: élbow, álcohol, ôld, Álfred, Ólga, élk, Élspeth, ållspîce, élm, hélp, álpha, ålso, ålter, fílth, últra, alvêolar or alveôlar, ålways.
It is silent at the end of words in the combinations -àlm, -ālf: cālf, hālf, càlm, bàlm, quàlm, and in the apparently plural àlms (compare hålt, where the l is pronounced) and also in fôlk, yôlk egg (= yôke ox) tålk, wålk (cf. squåwk) and sálmon; cölonel army = kërnel nut and for most speakers, Hôlmes Sherlock = hômes dwellings.
l likes to double itself at the end of words after short vowels of one letter: íll, fåll, féll, dóll, pôll election (= pôle wood) tôll, bùll, gúll, núll, fíll, Bíll, båll, ståll, fùll (but the unstressed suffix version of fùll has only one l: hôpeful, wònderful) but there can be complications where there is a preceding syllable: BrE inståll can also be instål in AmE, and, in reverse, BrE appål can also be appåll in AmE; both have appålling.
In sátellîte it is the l, not the first t, which is doubled, and in párallel it is the first l - not the r or the second l, as one might expect.
l is single after a two-letter vowel: cråwl, foôl, rêal, fòul horrible = fòwl bird, håul, sôul spirit (= sôle only, fish).
There are actually two l sounds: two l allophones form the l phoneme. Initial l is called light l, while dark l is found in final position, or before another consonant. Light l is pronounced more in the front of the mouth, with the tip of the tongue (as l is always pronounced in French, Italian, Spanish and German); dark l is pronounced with the middle of the mouth and tongue (but not, except in the Cockney accent, virtually as a 'w' as in Portuguese) and lasts longer:
Light l (beginning a syllable): prelíminary, lîght, clínk, líp, allót, flíp, alône, slêek. Dark l (ending a syllable): ålways, stíll, élse, ålso, dóll, fåll, ålter, fåult, píll, cråwl.
Medial double l is lighter in BrE than in AmE: fílling, téller, bállot, tåller, fållen, instílled. In some varieties, Welsh English, for example, only light l is used.
Dark, doubled and final, -ll influences the sound of a preceding a: wåll, håll, tåll, åll, fåll, appåll (AmE; BrE appål), gåll, båll, ståll, cåll and måll - but not, strangely, in Páll Máll. But only one l, plus a consonant, is required in the middle of a word to produce å: fålter, ålter, hålt, hålter, althôugh (ål-), Wålter (cf. wåter), målt, scåld, ålder and the l for most speakers is rendered silent before k: wålk, tålk, chålk, bålk (also spelt båulk).
There can be a similar lengthening effect on ô before final -ll: pôll, tôll, rôll - but not in dóll, knóll. And also in gôld, hôld. For some speakers -ôl- has an ô sound that is more like ó plus ù than the normal schwa plus ù: such speakers will tend to distinguish Hôlmes from hômes.
Dark l can follow another single consonant to form a cluster without altering the long sound of the preceding vowel: âble, tâble, îdle, bûgle, nôble (cf. the double consonants in stráddle, ẁaddle, míddle, kéttle, píffle).
A diphthong ending with the sound í adds a schwa before final l, so that ŏil rhymes with lŏyal, and râil with betrâyal.
Final -le versus final -al: Adjectives: mûsical, clássical, nåutical, cómical, cónical, particípial, príncipal (head = prínciple first, reason) Nouns: prínciple (= príncipal, as above) partíciple, pàrticle, fóllicle, múddle, púddle, cúddle, ẁaddle, dóddle, and mólecule.