First a vowel sound like the ‘uh’ as in ‘pull’, then the L sound. So the tongue has to pull back a little bit, the tip doesn’t touch anything, before the tip moves up to make the L sound. The ‘oo’ as in ‘boo’ vowel has the tongue tip forward. If you leave it out, real, real, it does not sound correct. So if you’re saying a word like real or pool, where the tip of the tongue is forward for the vowel, real, it has to pull back, ri-, uh, ul, to make that dark L sound. The tongue is raised somewhat towards the middle, and the lips round a little bit before the tip of the tongue moves up to make the L sound. So, the tip of the tongue has pulled back a little bit, it’s not touching anything. What is the vowel-like sound? It’s very similar to the ‘uh’ as in ‘pull’ sound. So the dark L is made up of two parts: this vowel-like sound and then the L. It’s this third sound, this vowel-like sound that comes before the L but is not represented by a symbol in IPA. There is a sound between the ee and the ll. But as I say it slowly, notice that there are actually four sounds. In IPA it is written with three symbols: the R, the ee vowel, and the L. Lets go back to the example word, real, to talk about this. And the second is simply the same position as the light L. Dark L’s have two parts, The first is a vowel-like sound that is not written in IPA, but is certainly there. As I said, an L is a dark L if it comes after the vowel or diphthong in a syllable, like in the word real. Either position is fine, ll, like, touching the roof of the mouth, Ll, like, coming through the teeth, like the TH. I’ve also noticed, as I’ve studied my own speech in slow motion, that sometimes I make this sound by bringing the tip of the tongue through the teeth, ll, ll, similar to the position for th, th, the TH sounds. To make this sound, the tip of the tongue reaches up, ll, ll, and touches the roof of the mouth just behind the front teeth, ll, ll, as the vocal cords are making sound. If it comes after the vowel or diphthong in a syllable, it is a dark L. The L is light if it comes before the vowel or diphthong in the syllable. However, in the International Phonetic Alphabet, there is only one symbol that represents this sound, either a light L or a dark L. This might be because there’s actually two parts to it. This sound is especially difficult for people who don’t have it in their native language. YouTube blocked? Click here to see the video. Learn the difference between these two types of L’s, and study the positions with illustrations and up close, slow motion speech. The L is a tough consonant, there is a Light and a Dark version.

How to pronounce