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IPA – number	209
IPA – text	ɫ
IPA – image
Entity	ɫ
X-SAMPA	5
Kirshenbaum	l<vzd>
Sound sample (help·info)

The velarized alveolar lateral approximant, which may actually be pharyngealized, also known as dark l, is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. Velarization/Pharyngealization is generally associated with more dental articulations of coronal consonants so that dark l tends to be dental or denti-alveolar while clear l tends to be retracted to an alveolar position.^[1]

Features

Features of the velarized alveolar lateral approximant:

• Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by bringing one articulator close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.
• Its place of articulation is dental or alveolar, which means it is articulated with the tip (or, more rarely,^[1] the blade of the tongue) against the alveolar ridge. It also has a secondary articulation of velarization or pharyngealization, meaning that the back or root of the tongue approaches the soft palate (velum), or the back of the throat, respectively.
• Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
• It is a lateral consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the sides of the tongue, rather than the middle of the tongue.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

Occurrence

Notes

References

• Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena (1995), "European Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 25 (2): 90-94
• Daniel, Jones & Ward Dennis (1969), The Phonetics of Russian, Cambridge University Press
• Recasens, Daniel & Aina Espinosa (2005), "Articulatory, positional and coarticulatory characteristics for clear /l/ and dark /l/: evidence from two Catalan dialects", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 35 (1): 1-25
• Roca, Iggy & Wyn Johnson (1999), written at Essex, A Course in Phonology, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 0-631-21346-5
• Verhoeven, Jo (2005), "Belgian Standard Dutch", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 35 (2): 243-247
• Watson, Janet (2002), The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic, Oxford University Press

See also

• Lateral consonant
• Velarization
• l-vocalization
• Ł