Voiced velar lateral approximant | |||
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ʟ | |||
IPA Number | 158 | ||
Audio sample | |||
source · help | |||
Encoding | |||
Entity (decimal) | ʟ | ||
Unicode (hex) | U+029F | ||
X-SAMPA | L\ | ||
Braille | ![]() ![]() | ||
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The 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 represents this sound is ⟨ʟ⟩ a small capital version of the Latin letter l (since 1989), and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is L\.
The velar laterals of the world often involve a prestopped realization .
Features of the voiced velar lateral approximant:
The velar lateral involves no contact of the tip of the tongue with the roof of the mouth: just like for the velar stop , the only contact takes place between the back of the tongue and the velum. This contrasts with the velarized alveolar lateral approximant – also known as the dark l in English feel – for which the apex touches the alveolar ridge.
Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
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English | Southern US | middle | '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. See English phonology | |
full | 'full' | ||||
Hiw | r̄evr̄ov | 'evening' | Realized as prestopped . | ||
Melpa | paⱡa | 'fence' | Realized as prestopped . | ||
Mid-Wahgi | aglagle | 'dizzy' | Realized as prestopped . |