Hello there!
This is the "Sounds American" channel.
In this video, we're going to talk about the "dark" L,
as in the word "call."
You can also hear this sound in words like
"tool" - "gold" - "full" or "fault."
We'll be using a special phonetic symbol - /ɫ/ - for this sound.
Let's get back to our examples.
Now, listen to these words pronounced with the "regular" L and compare:
Can you hear any difference?
Let's do it again!
Can you hear any difference now?
We can't either.
And this is TOTALLY fine.
The "dark" L and the "regular" L sound almost the same.
The "dark" 'L' is only a variation of the /l/ sound and not a distinct consonant.
And to be honest, that's all that most people need to know about the "dark" L.
But if you don't have more important things to do, keep watching.
And you know what?
We actually won't be using the dark /ɫ/ symbol.
It's never used in dictionaries and we like to keep things simple.
Before we get into the "dark" L discussion,
let's recall how to make the regular /l/ sound.
Here you go:
The /l/ is pronounced with the tip of your tongue
touching the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth.
The back of your tongue is lowered.
The /l/ is made with air passing through the mouth
around the sides of the tongue like a liquid:
By the way, this is why it's called a "liquid" consonant.
OK.
Now let's try to pronounce the /l/ in a slightly different way.
This time keep the tip of your tongue a little lower
so that it doesn't touch the alveolar ridge.
The back of your tongue, on the contrary, should be a little higher.
Let's try saying it:
Have your got it?
Congratulations, you've just nailed the "dark" L sound!
Hold on,
we're not done yet.
Here is the tricky part:
there's no strict distinction between the "regular" and the "dark" L in American English.
Instead, there are many degrees of darkness.
And we do love how this sounds :).
The darkness of the 'L' depends on its position in a word
and is adjusted by the tip and the back of your tongue.
The lower the tip of your tongue, the darker the 'L' you get.
Now, the question is:
when should you and shouldn't you make your 'L' dark?
This is actually pretty simple:
always check the sound before the 'L'.
If it's one of the back vowel sounds, like in the words
"tool," "full," "gold," and "fault,"
pronounce the darkest /l/ possible.
The thing is, when you make the back vowel,
your tongue is already pulled back, so it's easier to make the "dark" 'L':
If it's one of the central or front vowels, like in the words
"deal," "mail," "tell," or "final"
pronounce the /l/ that's slightly darker than the regular one.
It's okay to gently touch your alveolar ridge:
Now, what happens when there's a consonant before the 'L'
or the 'L' is at the beginning of a word or a syllable?
Correct, in that case pronounce your "regular" L sound:
At this point, you may wonder what's going on in the red area.
This is to show you one of the most typical mistakes that people make
when pronouncing the /l/ sound.
There is the /ɭ/ sound, also known as the "Soft 'L',
which exists in several languages
but doesn't exist in American English.
The "soft" L is pronounced with the tip of your tongue curled back to your palate
and this is NOT how you make any of the American 'L' sounds!
Compare:
Remember, if you pronounce the "soft" L instead of the /l/ sound,
it'll seriously affect your American accent.
Bottom Line:
It's okay to always pronounce only the "regular" L when speaking English;
you'll still sound pretty much like an American.
However, you should avoid using the "soft" /ɭ/ sound,
since it'll make your foreign accent stand out.
And this gradually leads us to practice!
Yes, it's high time to do some exercises.
This is the only way to improve your American accent.
This is how it works.
You'll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation.
Like this:
You'll have a few seconds to pronounce the word.
♪
Do your best to practice as many words as possible.
We'll start with the /l/ sound found after the back vowel sounds.
Let's do it.
Let's stop here for a second and take a short break.
Next, we'll practice words in which the /l/ occurs after the central and front vowel sounds.
Let's continue.
Let's pause for a second to catch our breath.
Are you ready for a challenge?
Now you'll have to guess which /l/ sound to pronounce:
the "regular" or the "dark" one.
Don't worry though,
if you only pronounce the "regular" /l/ sound, it's not a mistake!
Let's do it.
You're done!
Congratulations!
We hope that this all made you more confident in your /l/ sound.
By the way, did you know that the /l/ consonant
slightly affects the pronunciation of the preceding vowel sounds?
Yes, you heard that right
Compare:
Vowel sounds that occur before the /l/
are pronounced slightly further back and higher in your mouth.
So if you have a good ear you may hear the difference.
Live and learn, right?
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