Consonant Sound Dark L as in "call" - American English Pronunciation
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.ค. 2024
- The "dark" L is only a variation of the /l/ sound and not a distinct consonant. Thus, if you only pronounce the "regular" L, you'll still sound pretty much like an American. Watch this video in case "pretty much" is not good enough for you.
Check out our website: soundsamerican.net/
Quick Links:
• Consonant sound "Dark" L: 00:00
• "Dark" L vs "regular" L: 00:45
• How to pronounce the "dark" L: 02:03
• Typical mistake (the "soft" L): 05:23
• Pronunciation exercise 1: 06:43
• Pronunciation exercise 2: 08:28
• Pronunciation exercise 3: 09:52
• Vowel sounds before the /l/: 11:59
Related Videos:
#AmericanPronunciation #ConsonantSounds #LiquidSounds
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• Consonant Sound / l / ...
► Consonant Sound /r/ as in "run"
• Consonant Sound / r / ...
[THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, VIETNAMESE, PORTUGUESE, AND RUSSIAN SUBTITLES]
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TRANSCRIPT
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" 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: /l/.
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: /ɫ/, /ɫ/, /ɫ/. Have you got it?
Congratulations, you've just nailed the "dark" L sound!
Hold on, we're not done yet.
Here's 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': "tool," "full," "gold," "fault."
• 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: "deal," "mail," "tell," "final."
• 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: "play," "clean," "light," or "look."
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!
Remember, if you pronounce the soft 'L' instead of the /l/ sound, it'll seriously affect your American accent.
[Pronunciation exercise 1]
• bold
• all
• sold
• gold
• fold
• bowl
• pull
• vault
• told
• goal
• bull
• salt
• ball
• cool
• pool
[Pronunciation exercise 2]
• salad
• health
• adult
• bill
• color
• fail
• college
• gallon
• email
• cereal
• feel
• bulb
• build
• belt
• deal
[Pronunciation exercise 3]
• place
• leaf
• look
• lady
• black
• old
• wall
• police
• flat
• golf
• golden
• else
• small
• tall
• role
• model
• class
• hall
• crawl
• wolf
![The Light L /l/ and Dark L [ɫ] in English](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ANa8UWr22x0/mqdefault.jpg)
Why did you stop??. you are amazing, we want you to come back to your channel POR FAVOR
50 shades of L
Haha!
ɫ
I can't wait for another video. Thanks for all the hard work you put into making these!
"But if don’t have more important things to do, keep watching! (about Dark "L") Love this part. And I'll keep watching, as I am quarantine.
This is the clearest Dark L explanation or for that reason American L I have found on TH-cam.
Long time, no hear. Great to have you back. Thanks.
+Alejandro García Vidal You're welcome! 😊👋
All the information that I wanted to know to improve my L Sound is here.
Amazing video, amazing channel, amazing people.
THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!
Thanks for Sounds American Channel, it helped me a lot!
+xianglin chen You're welcome! Glad it was helpful!😊👋
I watched all your videos, I can see the progress I’m making!
Thanks! You guys are the best!
Have a nice day🤗
+Autumn35pro Very glad to hear it! Let us know if you have any questions! :).
Amazing video! Thank you! Did’t know about different types of L sound before this video.
Hello there.... I wanna say I love all these pronunciation videos . For us , Braszilians , we have many problems with the pronunciation of some words, vogals and consonants . Thanks God , because we have "sounds american" now ... thank you guys for this great job!! Well done!!
Cleo from Brazil.
+Cleonice Moreira Alves Thank you for your kind words! Happy that you like our videos
Long time waiting for this video, it's the best L sound video I've seen, you're awsome guys, please keep the good job you're doing and thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
+natanael manzanillo You're welcome! Glad you liked this video! 😊👋
I absolutely love this channel! Thank you so much! My pronunciation has gotten so much better. I practice almost every day!
That's great!
@@SoundsAmerican every time i tune this channel I wonder how it can be free or without charge, actually thank you
Your voice is so amazing, all of your lessons you made that are extremely efficient and helpful. I predict your videos will get million of views. Thanks
+Hải Lê Vũ Glad that you find our videos helpful! We hope to get that many views soon! -)
I wanna thank you for these amazing videos you make. It’s the only channel I know where you can really sit down and practice, no BS. I like your style! Funny, practical, engaging - everything you can ask for! Thank you!
🤗 So glad to read this. BTW, we post some comment on Community page here too. Check it out if you haven't seen it yet. 👋
Hello Sussan
After 1 year, finally you make it. Great video.
+Josdan Good things take time :)
@@SoundsAmerican a. Tradução. Em. Português
O. Canal. Sou da. Americano. A. Tradução.
Oh, I was very curious about the "dark" L. My friends, pets, relatives, and I thank you for this video!!
+ultra7178 You all are very welcome! 😄🖖👋
I'm so happy to know this channel 😊
I should say that this is just fantastic. I'm a teacher and a student just asked me about the /l/ sound. I answerd properly, but I wasn't enough sure on the phonems and phonology. This vid completely blew my mind. Awesome job. Thank you much!
Glad to hear this! We love having teachers in our community and we're always trying to make our videos as helpful for teachers as possible. If you have any feedback or recommendations, share with us! And don't forget to share our videos with your students. 😂
I love the sincere frustration and empathy for others in the guys voice while explaining the matter. Amen.
"But if you dont have more important things to do keep watching" yep thats me
+ caremell 😀😊 We know how hard and exhausting learning all this can be :).
This is the only channel you need to follow if you want to practice and learn American pronunciation
Couldn't agree more. :)
@@SoundsAmerican By the way, I don’t see diphthong “ur” in words like poor, tour from your videos. Or American English just simply replaced them by “or” r-cored sound? Thanks!
Yes, you're right. The /ʊr/ sound is used in the US, but we don't believe it's used in the General American English. For example, we pronounce the words "sure" and "poor" as /ʃɝ/ and /pɔr/, but you may hear some people saying them with the /ʊr/ sound.
I love your accent and videos! It's so helpful!😆 thank you so much!
Thank you! 😃 Let us know if you have any questions!
I'm happy to join this channel and thank you for everything
Welcome aboard! 😊🖖
Sounds American The Dark L is an allophone of the L phoneme.
+Eduardo Braivein You're absolutely right, that's why in this video we said that it's not a distinct consonant.
I've been watching all your videos. How can I express my gratitude to you?. I really appreciate your crew. And I am going to watch these videos over and over again. The only thing left is to share this great channel to my family, friends and my pet. right? Thank you so much.
Thank you! Yes, it would be awesome if you share our channel with your friends, family, and your pet (is it a cat or a dog?). Also, TH-cam has this cool feature called SuperThanks which looks like a THANKS button under a video. 😋
I love this channel so much.
I want to say thank you 'cause l was looking forward to seeing this video , congrats! Don't stop working bro.
+Luis Manuel Baez You're welcome! We won't, we have all intentions to continue :).
Hello, thank you to producers of this program. It was excellent and helps students learn the correct pronunciation.
Happy to hear that!
Well done 👍 really i love that method of teaching.
Thank you very much! It is very useful!
Very useful, thanks!
The best lesson on velarised /l/ I've had in my life! Better than my lecturer ❤️ keep going, you guys
Thank you! We will. :)
This is the best English pronunciation channel, thank you so much.
Tradução. Português
Tradução. Português
Best video online to explain to most difficult sound in English for L1 Bulgarian speakers.
+ Schwarzenegger Glad you liked it!
This channel is great! Thank you! Please, make more videos!
We will!👋
You're doing great work. Thanks a lot.
+TAsha TAsha 😊👋
your channel is the best about american pronunciation!!!
Great video sir! Thanks!
Thank you so much. I speak Chinese and we have a soft L sound. That’s why every time I pronounce L into soft L while I even didn’t notice this. My kids always told me my L is not right but they couldn’t find the problem. Thank for your video, now I finally know where the problem is.
You’re welcome 😊 BTW, we also have a website with tons of info on pronunciation and practice exercises for all American English sounds: soundsamerican.net/
Absolutely helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks again... May the Lord bless you to all.
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This is very useful, thanks
Great video. I was right with my explanation when I give the pronunciation course. This information Is GREAT!!!! THANKS
Thank you for all the feedback you've been providing. We tried to make our videos and other materials as useful for teachers as possible. By the way, if you haven't seen yet, check out our TH-cam Community page (link: th-cam.com/channels/-MSYk9R94F3TMuKAnQ7dDg.htmlcommunity). Every Wednesday, we post a quiz on phonics and ask our audience to choose an answer. On Friday, we post a detailed answer explaining how English phonic rules work. These quizzes and the Friday posts may be very useful for your students too. 👋
Guys,i really can't THANK YOU enough, i hope that you understand. NOT FOR ONLY this BUT FOR EVERYTHING I COULD LEARN FROM YOU.
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Great video!!! Thanks a million for sharing.
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This is the best english channel that I've ever seen, nevertherless I was wondering if you could do a video how to pronounce ''ed'' in past tense.
you get me watch your videos almost everyday, I've improved my pronunciation a lot of. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your suggestion! Yes, we plan to make a video on this topic soon, stay tuned!
I like your videos you always explain everything
+Bairon Ayala We try to :)
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we were not taught this at school
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We love you too!👋
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lɫlɬlɭ
Thank youuuuuu Never explain me before that this sound is the right one. It is not easy but with practice will be great.
You can do it!👋
Thank you for your careful and professional teaching. I sincerely hope there will be Chinese subtitles.
The best explain ever.
You should keep doing this videos
Glad you liked it! Sure, we will.👋
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Incredible lesson
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Thanks teacher
Dear Sounds American,
Thanks a lot for the video, it has been a while .... hope everything goes well with you and keep producing American sounds video _ I believe thousands of people will be benefited from your forte...
+Elwin Harahap Thank you for your kind words! Of course, we'll keep making new videos, stay tuned!
Please keep posting more videos because I learned British English and need to know the main differences between the two varieties of English.
+Eduardo Braivein We will, stay tuned!
So helpful 😍
super well explained thank you !
Glad you liked it!
Thank you so much!! I always know about dark L, but I never know there is a soft L thing, and I can still hear myself sounds so different from a native speaker when I say the words with L in them! And nobody could explain why! Now I know I’ve been using soft L instead of a regular L!!
Glad this video was helpful!
*AMAZING CHANNEL* Don't forget that this guide can be used to speak other languages like german.
The best I can see to explain this difficult sound.Thank you
Glad it was helpful!😊
Thanks a million! I love all of your videos which are truly helpful. The dark L is most difficult for Asians. I've heard some teachers say it should slightly touch the up jaw, even touch the teeth. Yet in this video, it indicated that the tongue should be backward. I'm a bit of confusion, and it might due to my misunderstanding... I'll figure out with it and keep practicing it. Your team is awesome! Much appreciated!!! :)
🤗👋
Now I undertook, I can't ear the regular "l" in several words , even I thought don't ear any "l". Thank you very much
Thank you very much to help me .
It's very interesting and useful
Glad to hear that!😊👋
I've downloaded the whole Sound American channel playlists to my laptop 🙂👌
And my pronunciation improved by 110%! Comparing to period before committing to your videos.
+ Can you please made some video on sound placement !? It would be very appreciated ☺️😊
Excellent! What do you mean by sound placement?
greatest video.. for REAL!!!!!
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Really enjoy learning new 5hings thank you teacher
Happy to hear that!
Dude! I did have effin hard time pronouncing double L
Thank u so much for your video:p
Thanks a million
😊👋
Great!
Thank You so much
Welcome!
Geniales como siempre!!
+Angel Alvarez Thank you! 😊👋
I want your Pronunciation App. It is very useful. If it shows to the public, I think everyone will support it.
We're using our own app, but we haven't released it to the public yet. We're planning to do it very soon and we'll announce the release on this channel. Stay tuned!
Thank you so much 🌹
Your videos gave me the courage to start my own TH-cam channel😊
Fantastic! Good luck with your channel!
Very nice
Thanks!
Thank you for explanation. The demo helps a lot and the drawings are quite helpful.
It is not easy to pronounce the dark L. Need to practice and get used to it. I don't know dark L in other languages that I know. It is a special sound.
Many people find the dark 'L' sound difficult to master, because it's very different from the regular /l/ sound which is familiar. The good news is that if you practice the dark 'L' regularly, you'll be able to pronounce it correctly. Just make sure to listen to how it's pronounced and repeat after the speaker. These two steps are critical. Hope it helps!
This video has really helped me to improve my English skills. 😎
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I'm learning more with your channel than in my English class. :D
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I am Uzbek and your videos are very usefull for students. Thanks for all.
Glad you like them!
Many thanks11
Worth noting that null dislikes so far. Good work!! Nice video, carefully prepared with excellent diagrams and exercises.
+Jan Thank you 😊. Yes, we're starting to worry, where those people who dislike our videos are :).
More lessons like this,please!
th-cam.com/play/PLYJV5Moz9cfyRIyd3HKzwRGnDM_BSbEuI.html
Long time no videos. I miss your useful videos
We'll resume publishing soon! Stay tuned!
Finally... Thanks 😊
+Rare Visitor You're welcome! 😊👋