Voiced velar lateral approximant
The voiced velar lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used as a distinct consonant in a very small number[1] 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\.
| Voiced velar lateral approximant | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ʟ | |||
| IPA Number | 158 | ||
| Audio sample | |||
|
source · help | |||
| Encoding | |||
| Entity (decimal) | ʟ | ||
| Unicode (hex) | U+029F | ||
| X-SAMPA | L\ | ||
| Braille |   | ||
| |||
The velar laterals of the world often involve a prestopped realization [ɡ͡ʟ].[2]
Features
Features of the voiced velar lateral approximant:
- Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but not enough to produce a turbulent airstream.
- Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
- Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
- It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
- It is a lateral consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, rather than down the middle.
- The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and diaphragm, as in most sounds.
The velar lateral [ʟ] involves no contact of the tip of the tongue with the roof of the mouth: just like for the velar stop [ɡ], the only contact takes place between the back of the tongue and the velum. This contrasts with the velarized alveolar lateral approximant [ɫ] – also known as the dark l in English feel [fiːɫ] – for which the apex touches the alveolar ridge.[3]
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Southern US[4] | middle | [ˈmɪɾʟ̩] | '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 | [ˈfʟ̩ː] | 'full' | |||
| Hiw[5] | r̄evr̄ov | [ɡ͡ʟəβɡ͡ʟɔβ] | 'evening' | Realized as prestopped [ɡ͡ʟ]. | |
| Melpa[6] | paⱡa | ⓘ | 'fence' | Realized as prestopped [ɡ͡ʟ]. | |
| Mid-Wahgi[7] | aglagle | [aʟaʟe] | 'dizzy' | Realized as prestopped [ɡ͡ʟ]. | |
See also
Notes
- François (2010), pp. 422–426.
- François (2010), p. 425.
- François (2010), p. 423.
- Wells (1982), p. 551.
- François (2010), p. 419.
- Ladefoged (2005), p. 169.
- Roca & Johnson (1999), p. 73.
References
- François, Alexandre (2010), "Phonotactics and the prestopped velar lateral of Hiw: resolving the ambiguity of a complex segment" (PDF), Phonology, 27 (3): 393–434, doi:10.1017/s0952675710000205, S2CID 62628417
- Ladefoged, Peter (2005), Vowels and Consonants (2nd ed.), Blackwell
- Roca, Iggy; Johnson, Wyn (1999), A Course in Phonology, Blackwell Publishing
- Wells, John C. (1982). Accents of English. Vol. 3: Beyond the British Isles (pp. i–xx, 467–674). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-52128541-0.
