View source for L-vocalization

{{Short description|Pronouncing "l" sounds as vowels}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''L''-vocalization}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2019}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2016}}
{{Sound change}}
{{IPA notice}}
'''''L''-vocalization''', in [[linguistics]], is a process by which a [[lateral approximant]] sound such as {{IPAblink|l}}, or, perhaps more often, [[velarized]] {{IPAblink|ɫ}}, is replaced by a [[vowel]] or a [[semivowel]].

==Types==
There are two types of ''l''-vocalization:
* A labiovelar approximant, velar approximant, or back vowel: {{IPA|[ɫ]}} > {{IPA|[w]}} or {{IPA|[ɰ]}} > {{IPA|[u]}} or {{IPA|[ɯ]}}
* A front vowel or palatal approximant: {{IPA|[l]}} > {{IPA|[j]}} > {{IPA|[i]}}

==West Germanic languages==
Examples of L-vocalization can be found in many West Germanic languages, including English, Scots, Dutch, and some German dialects.

===Early Modern English===
<!-- Needs to be verified whether this was in Early Modern or Middle English. -->
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2014}}
L-vocalization has occurred, since [[Early Modern English]], in certain ''-al-'' and ''-ol-'' sequences before [[coronal consonant|coronal]] or [[velar consonant|velar]] [[consonant]]s, or at the end of a word or morpheme. In those sequences, {{IPA|/al/}} became {{IPA|/awl/}} and [[diphthong]]ed to {{IPA|/ɑul/}}, while {{IPA|/ɔl/}} became {{IPA|/ɔwl/}} and diphthonged to {{IPA|/ɔul/}}.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Modern English Grammar vol. 1|last=Jesperson|first=Otto|publisher=Bradford & Dickens|year=1954|location=London|pages=289–297}}</ref>

At the end of a word or morpheme, it produced ''all'', ''ball'', ''call'', ''control'', ''droll'', ''extol'', ''fall'', ''gall'', ''hall'', ''knoll'', ''mall'', ''pall'', ''poll'', ''roll'', ''scroll'', ''small'', ''squall'', ''stall'', ''stroll'', ''swollen'', ''tall'', ''thrall'', ''toll'', ''troll'' and ''wall''. The word ''shall'' did not follow this trend, and remains {{IPA|/ˈʃæl/}} today.

Before [[coronal consonant]]s, it produced ''[[Alderney]]'', ''alter'', ''bald'', ''balderdash'', ''bold'', ''cold'', ''false'', ''falter'', ''fold'', ''gold'', ''halt'', ''hold'', ''malt'', ''molten'', ''mould/mold'', ''old'', ''palsy'', ''salt'', ''shoulder'' (earlier ''sholder''), ''smolder'', ''told'', ''[[wikt:Special:Search/wald|wald]]'', ''Walter'' and ''wold'' (in the sense of "tract of land"). As with ''shall'', the word ''shalt'' did not follow the trend and remains {{IPA|/ˈʃælt/}} today.

Before {{IPA|/k/}}, it produced ''balk'', ''[[Balkans]]'', ''caulk/calk'', ''chalk'', ''[[Dundalk]]'', ''falcon'', ''folk'', ''Polk'', ''stalk'', ''talk'', ''walk'' and ''yolk''.

Words like ''fault'' and ''vault'' did not undergo L-vocalization but rather L-restoration. They had previously been L-vocalized independently in [[Old French]] and lacked the {{IPA|/l/}} in Middle English but had it restored by Early Modern English. The word ''falcon'' existed simultaneously as homonyms ''fauco(u)n'' and ''falcon'' in Middle English. The word ''moult/molt'' never originally had {{IPA|/l/}} to begin with and instead derived from Middle English ''mout'' and related etymologically to ''mutate''; the {{IPA|/l/}} joined the word intrusively.

L-vocalization established a pattern that would influence the [[spelling pronunciation]]s of some relatively more recent loanwords like ''[[Balt]]'', ''[[Malta]]'', ''polder'', ''waltz'' and ''[[Yalta]]''. It also influenced [[English spelling reform]] efforts, explaining the [[American English]] ''mold'' and ''molt'' as opposed to the traditional ''mould'' and ''moult''.

However, certain words of more recent origin or coining do not exhibit the change and retain short vowels, including ''Al'', ''alcohol'', ''bal'', ''Cal'', ''calcium'', ''doll'', ''gal'', ''Hal'', ''mal-'', ''Moll'', ''pal'', ''Poll'', ''Sal'', ''talc'', and ''Val''.

While in most circumstances L-vocalization stopped there, it continued in ''-alk'' and ''-olk'' words, with the {{IPA|/l/}} disappearing entirely in most accents (with the notable exception of [[Hiberno-English]]). The change caused {{IPA|/ɑulk/}} to become {{IPA|/ɑuk/}}, and {{IPA|/ɔulk/}} to become {{IPA|/ɔuk/}}. Even outside Ireland, some of these words have more than one pronunciation that retains the {{IPA|/l/}} sound, especially in American English where spelling pronunciations caused partial or full reversal of L-vocalization in a handful of cases:
* ''caulk/calk'' can be {{IPA|/ˈkɔːlk/}} or {{IPA|/ˈkɔːk/}}.
* ''falcon'' can be {{IPA|/ˈfælkən/}}, {{IPA|/ˈfɔːlkən/}} or {{IPA|/ˈfɔːkən/}}.
* ''yolk'' can be {{IPA|/ˈjoʊlk/}} or {{IPA|/ˈjoʊk/}}; ''yoke'' as {{IPA|/ˈjoʊk/}} is only conditionally [[homophone|homophonous]].

The [[Great Vowel Shift]] changed L-vocalized diphthongs to their present pronunciations, with {{IPA|/ɑu/}} becoming the monophthong {{IPA|/ɔː/}}, and {{IPA|/ɔu/}} raising to {{IPA|/ou/}}.

The loss of {{IPA|/l/}} in words spelt with ''-alf'', ''-alm'', ''-alve'' and ''-olm'' did not involve L-vocalization in the same sense, but rather the elision of the consonant and usually the [[compensatory lengthening]] of the vowel.

===Modern English===
More extensive L-vocalization is a notable feature of certain dialects of [[English language|English]], including [[Cockney]], [[Estuary English]], [[New York City English|New York English]], [[New Zealand English]], [[Pittsburgh English]], [[Philadelphia dialect|Philadelphia English]] and [[Australian English]], in which an {{IPA|/l/}} sound occurring at the end of a word (but usually not when the next word begins with a vowel and is pronounced without a pause) or before a consonant is pronounced as some sort of close back vocoid: {{IPA|[w]}}, {{IPA|[o]}} or {{IPA|[ʊ]}}. The resulting sound may not always be rounded. The precise phonetic quality varies. It can be heard occasionally in the dialect of the English [[East Midlands]], where words ending in -old can be pronounced {{IPA|/oʊd/}}. [[K. M. Petyt]] (1985) noted this feature in the traditional dialect of [[West Yorkshire]] but said it has died out.<ref>KM Petyt, ''Dialect & Accent in Industrial West Yorkshire'', John Benjamins Publishing Company, page 219</ref> However, in recent decades, l-vocalization has been spreading outwards from London and the southeast;<ref>Asher, R.E., Simpson, J.M.Y. (1993). ''The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics''. Pergamon. p. 4043. {{ISBN|978-0080359434}}</ref><ref>Kortmann, Bernd et al. (2004). ''A Handbook of Varieties of English''. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 196. {{ISBN|978-3110175325}}.</ref> [[John C. Wells]] argued that it is probable that it will become the standard pronunciation in England over the next one hundred years,<ref>Wells, John C. (1982). ''Accents of English''. Cambridge University Press. p. 259. {{ISBN|978-0521297196}}</ref> which Petyt criticised in a book review.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Petyt |first1=KM |year=1982 |title=Reviews: JC Wells: Accents of English|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=104–112 |publisher=Cambridge |doi=10.1017/S0025100300002516 |s2cid=146349564 }}</ref>

For some speakers of the [[General American]] accent, {{IPA|/l/}} before {{IPA|/f v/}} (sometimes also before {{IPA|/s z/}}) may be pronounced as {{IPA|[ɤ̯]}}.<ref>{{citation|last=Rogers|first=Henry|year=2000|pages=[https://archive.org/details/soundsoflanguage00roge/page/120 120–121]|title=The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics|place=Essex|publisher=Pearson Education Limited|isbn=978-0-582-38182-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/soundsoflanguage00roge/page/120}}</ref>

In Cockney, Estuary English, New Zealand English and Australian English, l-vocalization can be accompanied by [[phonemic differentiation|phonemic mergers]] of vowels before the vocalized {{IPA|/l/}}, so that ''real'', ''reel'' and ''rill'', which are distinct in most dialects of English, are homophones as {{IPA|[ɹɪw]}}.

Graham Shorrocks noted extensive L-vocalisation in the dialect of [[Bolton, Greater Manchester]], and commented, "many, perhaps, associate such a quality more with Southern dialects, than with Lancashire/Greater Manchester."<ref>{{cite book|last=Shorrocks|first=Graham|title=A Grammar of the Dialect of the Bolton Area. Pt. 2: Morphology and syntax|publisher=Peter Lang|page=255|location=Frankfurt am Main|year=1999|series=Bamberger Beiträge zur englischen Sprachwissenschaft; Bd. 42|isbn=3-631-34661-1}} (based on the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sheffield, 1981)</ref>

In the accent of [[Bristol]], syllabic {{IPA|/l/}} can be vocalized to {{IPA|/o/}}, resulting in pronunciations like {{IPA|/ˈbɒto/}} (for ''bottle''). By [[hypercorrection]], however, some words originally ending in {{IPA|/o/}} were given an {{IPA|/l/}}: the original name of Bristol was ''Bristow'', but this has been altered by hypercorrection to ''Bristol''.<ref>{{OEtymD|Bristol}}</ref> In Plymouth L-vocalisation is also found, but without turning into the Bristol L afterwards.

[[African-American English]] dialects may have L-vocalization as well. However, in these dialects, it may be omitted altogether: fool becomes {{IPA|[fuː]}}. Some English speakers from San Francisco, particularly those of Asian ancestry, also vocalize or omit {{IPA|/l/}}.<ref>L Hall-Lew and R L Starr, ''Beyond the 2nd generation: English use among Chinese Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area'', ''English Today: The International Review of the English Language'', vol. 26, issue 3, pp. 12-19. [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?jid=ENG&volumeId=26&seriesId=0&issueId=03]</ref>

===German===
In colloquial varieties of modern [[standard German]], including the northern [[Missingsch#Phonological characteristics|Missingsch]], there is a moderate tendency to vocalise coda {{IPA|/l/}} into {{IPA|/ɪ̯/}}, especially in casual speech. This is most commonly found before {{IPA|/ç/}} in words like ''[[wikt:welche|welche]]'' ("which") or ''[[wikt:solche|solche]]'' ("such"), which merges with ''[[wikt:Seuche|Seuche]]'' ("disease"). To a lesser degree, the same may also occur before other [[dorsal consonant|dorsal]] and [[labial consonant|labial consonants]].

A similar but far more regular development exists in many dialects of [[Austro-Bavarian]], including Munich and Vienna. Here, etymological {{IPA|/l/}} in the coda is vocalised into {{lang|bar|i}} or {{lang|bar|y}} in all cases.
For example, Standard German {{lang|de|viel}} ("much") corresponds to {{lang|bar|vui}} in [[Munich]], ''vey'' in parts of the Southeast, ''vii'' North, West and East of [[Salzburg]] throughout the [[Salzburg (state)|state of Salzburg]], into [[Bavaria]] and into [[Upper Austria]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dialektlandschaft Salzkammergut |url=https://www.sprachatlas.at/salzkammergut/data/atlas.html |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=www.sprachatlas.at}}</ref> especially well pronounced on the German side of the border, and {{lang|bar|vü}} in [[Viennese German|Viennese]].

In most varieties of the [[Bernese German|Bernese]] dialect of [[Swiss German]], historical {{IPA|/l/}} in coda position has become {{IPA|[w]}} and historical {{IPA|/lː/}} (only occurring intervocalically) has become {{IPA|[wː]}}, whereas intervocalic {{IPA|/l/}} persists. The absence of vocalization was one of the distinctive features of the now-uncommon upper-class variety. It is still missing from dialects spoken in the [[Bernese Highlands]] and, historically, in the [[Schwarzenburg]] area. For example, the Bernese German name of the city of [[Biel/Bienne|Biel]] is pronounced {{IPA|gsw|ˈb̥iə̯w|}}.

This type of vocalization of {{IPA|/l/}}, such as {{IPA|gsw|sɑwts|}} for ''Salz'', is recently spreading into many Western Swiss German dialects, centred around [[Emmental]].

===Middle Scots===
In early 15th century [[Middle Scots]] {{IPA|/al/}} (except, usually, intervocalically and before {{IPA|/d/}}), {{IPA|/ol/}} and often {{IPA|/ul/}} changed to {{IPA|/au/}}, {{IPA|/ou/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}}. For example, {{lang|enm|all}} changed to {{lang|sco|aw}}, {{lang|enm|colt}} to {{lang|sco|cowt}}, {{lang|enm|ful}} to {{lang|sco|fou}} (full) and the rare exception {{lang|enm|hald}} to {{lang|sco|haud}} (hold).

===Middle Dutch===
{{expand section|date=September 2012}}
In early Middle Dutch, {{IPA|/ul/}}, {{IPA|/ol/}} and {{IPA|/al/}} merged and vocalised to {{IPA|/ou/}} before a dental consonant ({{IPA|/d/}} or {{IPA|/t/}}):
* {{lang|dum|schouder}} "shoulder" < {{lang|odt|schulder}}
* {{lang|dum|oud}} "old" < {{lang|odt|ald}}
* {{lang|dum|hout}} "wood" < {{lang|odt|holt}}
* {{lang|dum|Wouter}}, a name < {{lang|odt|Walter}}
The combination {{IPA|/yl/}}, which was derived from {{IPA|/ol/}} or {{IPA|/ul/}} through [[Germanic umlaut#I-mutation in Dutch|umlaut]], was not affected by the change, which resulted in alternations that still survive in modern Dutch:
* {{lang|nl|goud}} "gold", but {{lang|nl|gulden}} "golden"
* {{lang|nl|schout}} "sheriff", but {{lang|nl|schuld}} "guilt, debt"
* {{lang|nl|zouden}} "would" < {{lang|nl|zolden}}, past tense of {{lang|nl|zullen}} "to will, shall"
[[Ablaut]] variations of the same root also caused alternations, with some forms preserving the {{IPA|/l/}} and others losing it:
* {{lang|nl|houden}} "to hold", past tense {{lang|nl|hield}}
* {{lang|nl|wouden}} "wanted" < ''wolden'', past tense of {{lang|nl|willen}} "to want"
Analogy has caused it to be restored in some cases, however:
* {{lang|nl|wilden}} reformed next to older {{lang|nl|wouden}}
* {{lang|nl|gelden}} "to apply", past tense {{lang|nl|golden}}, earlier ''gouden''

===Modern Dutch===
Many speakers of the northern accents of Dutch realize {{IPA|/l/}} in the syllable coda as a strongly pharyngealized vowel {{IPA|[ɤ̯ˤ]}}.<ref>{{citation|last1=Collins|first1=Beverley|last2=Mees|first2=Inger M.|year=2003|title=The Phonetics of English and Dutch, Fifth Revised Edition|pages=197 and 287|publisher=E.J. Brill |isbn=9004103406}}</ref>

L-vocalization increased significantly from 1957, especially among women and people from Holland and Utrecht areas.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/jo_daan/11Reenen.pdf|last1=van Reenen|first=Pieter|title=De Vocalisering van de /l/ in het Standaard Nederlands|year=2000}}</ref>

In some dialects, instead of vocalization, it is more common to pronounce a clearer [ə] (a [[Svarabhakti]] vocal) after a vowel followed by a [l] or [r]: ''melk'' (milk) becomes ''[mel·ək]''.

==Romance languages==
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}
===French===
In pre-Modern French, {{IPA|[l]}} vocalized to {{IPA|[u]}} in certain positions:
* between a vowel and a consonant, as in [[Vulgar Latin]] {{lang|la|caldu(m)}} "warm, hot" > Old French {{lang|fro|chaud}} {{IPA|/tʃaut/}}
* after a vowel at the end of a word, as in Vulgar Latin {{lang|la|bellu(m)}} > Old French {{lang|fro|bel}} > Old French {{lang|fr|beau}} {{IPA|/be&#815;au&#815;/}} "beautiful" (masculine singular; compare the feminine {{lang|fro|belle}} {{IPA|/bɛlə/}}, in which the {{lang|fro|l}} occurred between vowels and did not vocalize)

By another sound change, diphthongs resulting from L-vocalization were simplified to monophthongs:
* Modern French {{lang|fr|chaud}} {{IPA|[ʃo]}}
* Modern French {{lang|fr|beau}} {{IPA|[bo]}} ({{lang|fr|belle}} {{IPA|[bɛl]}})

===Italo-Romance languages===
In early [[Italian language|Italian]], {{IPA|/l/}} vocalized between a preceding consonant and a following vowel to {{IPA|/j/}}: Latin {{lang|la|florem}} > Italian {{lang|it|fiore}}, Latin {{lang|la|clavem}} > Italian {{lang|it|chiave}}.

[[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]] shows a pattern similar to French, as {{IPA|[l]}} is vocalized, especially after {{IPA|[a]}}. For example, vulgar Latin {{lang|la|altu}} > {{lang|nap|àutə}}; {{lang|la|alter}} > {{lang|nap|àutə}}; {{lang|it|calza}} > {{lang|nap|cauzétta}} (with diminutive suffix). In many areas the vocalized {{IPA|[l]}} has evolved further into a syllabic {{IPA|[v]}}, thus {{lang|nap|àvətə}}, {{lang|nap|cavəzetta}}.

===Ibero-Romance languages===
West Iberian languages such as [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] had similar changes to those of French, but they were less common: Latin {{lang|la|alter}} became ''autro'' and later {{lang|es|otro}} (Spanish) or {{lang|pt|outro}} (Portuguese), while {{lang|la|caldus}} remained {{lang|es|caldo}}, and there were also some less regular shifts, like {{lang|la|vultur}} to {{lang|es|buitre}} (Spanish) or {{lang|pt|abutre}} (Portuguese).

In [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], historical {{IPA|[ɫ]}} ({{IPA|/l/}} in the [[syllable coda]]) has become {{IPA|[u̯ ~ ʊ̯]}} for most Brazilian dialects, and it is common in rural communities of [[Alto Minho]] and [[Madeira]]. For those dialects, the words {{lang|pt|mau}} (adjective, "bad") and {{lang|pt|mal}} (adverb, "poorly", "badly") are homophones and both pronounced as {{IPA|[ˈmaw]}}~{{IPA|[ˈmaʊ]}}, while standard [[European Portuguese]] prescribes {{IPA|[ˈmaɫ]}}. The pair is distinguished only by the antonyms ({{lang|pt|bom}} {{IPA|[ˈbõ]}}~{{IPA|[ˈbõw]}} and {{lang|pt|bem}} {{IPA|[ˈbẽj]}}).

==Slavic languages==
===South Slavic languages===
In Standard [[Serbo-Croatian language|Serbo-Croatian]], historical {{IPA|/l/}} ''in coda position'' has become {{IPA|/o/}} and is now so spelled at all times in [[Serbian language|Serbian]] and most often in [[Croatian language|Croatian]]. For example, the native name of [[Belgrade|Be'''l'''grade]] is {{lang|sh|Be'''o'''grad}} (Croatia also has a town of {{lang|sh|Bi'''o'''grad}}). However, in some final positions and in nouns only, Croatian keeps the {{IPA|/l/}} by analogy with other forms: {{lang|hr|stol}}, {{lang|hr|vol}}, {{lang|hr|sol}} vs. Serbian {{lang|sr|sto}}, {{lang|sr|vo}}, {{lang|sr|so}} (meaning "table", "ox" and "salt" respectively). This does not apply to adjectives ({{lang|sh|topao}}) or past participles of verbs ({{lang|sh|stigao}}), which are the same in Standard Croatian as in Standard Serbian.

In [[Slovene language|Slovene]], historical coda {{IPA|/l/}} is still spelled as {{lang|sl|l}} but almost always pronounced as {{IPA|[w]}}.

In [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], the phoneme {{IPA|/ɫ/|lang=bg}} is pronounced as a labio-velar approximant {{IPA|[w]|lang=bg}} in all positions in certain urban dialects, particularly among young people. For example, words such as {{Lang|bg|лодка, малка|italic=yes}} are pronounced {{IPA|[ˈwɔtkɐ], [ˈmawkɐ]|lang=bg}}. This feature is also associated with certain traditional dialects, mostly around Pernik, though it is thought that it evolved independently in the rest of the country. Still, it is more widespread in western dialects.

===Polish and Sorbian===
{{see also|Ł–l merger}}
In [[Polish language|Polish]] and [[Sorbian languages]], almost all historical {{IPA|/ɫ/}} have become {{IPA|/w/}}, even in word-initial and inter-vocalic positions. For example, {{lang|pl|mały}} ("small" in both Polish and Sorbian) is pronounced by most speakers as {{IPA|pl|ˈmawɨ|}} (compare [[Russian language|Russian]] {{lang|ru|малый}} {{IPA|ru|ˈmalɨj|}}). The {{IPA|[w]}} pronunciation, called ''[[:pl:wałczenie|wałczenie]]'' in Polish, dates back to the 16th century, first appearing among the lower classes. It was considered an uncultured accent until the mid-20th century, when the stigma gradually began to fade. As of the 21st century, {{IPA|[ɫ]}} is still used by some speakers of eastern Polish dialects, especially in [[Belarus]] and [[Lithuania]], as well as in Polish-Czech and Polish-Slovak [[Language contact|contact dialects]] in southern Poland.<ref>[http://www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl/index.php?l1=leksykon&lid=742 Leksykon terminów i pojęć dialektologicznych : Wałczenie]</ref>

===Ukrainian and Belarusian===
In [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] and [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], in the [[syllable coda]], historical {{IPA|/ɫ/}} has become {{IPA|[w]}} (written {{angbr|в}} in Ukrainian and {{angbr|ў}} in Belarusian, now commonly analyzed as coda allophone of {{IPA|/ʋ/}}–{{IPA|/v/}}). For example, the Ukrainian and Belarusian word for "wolf" is {{lang|uk|вовк}} {{IPA|[ʋɔwk]}} and {{lang|be|воўк}} {{IPA|[vowk]}} as opposed to [[Russian language|Russian]] {{lang|ru|вoлк}} {{IPA|[voɫk]}}. The same happens in the past tense of verbs: Russian {{lang|ru|дал}} {{IPA|[daɫ]}}, Ukrainian {{lang|uk|дав}} {{IPA|[daw]}}, Belarusian {{lang|uk|даў}} {{IPA|[daw]}} "gave". The {{IPA|/ɫ/}} is kept at the end of nouns (Russian and Belarusian {{lang|ru|стoл}} {{IPA|[stoɫ]}}, Ukrainian {{lang|ru|стіл}} {{IPA|[stiɫ]}} "table") and before suffixes (before historical {{angbr|ъ}} in the word middle): Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian {{lang|ru|палка}} {{IPA|[ˈpaɫka]}} "stick".

==Uralic languages==
Proto-Uralic *l was vocalized to *j in several positions in the [[Proto-Samoyed language]]. Several modern Uralic languages also exhibit l-vocalization:
* In [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], former palatal lateral {{IPA|*ʎ}} (still written by a separate grapheme {{lang|hu|[[Hungarian ly|ly]]}}) has become a semivowel {{IPA|/j/}}.
** A similar phenomenon exists in [[Swedish language|Swedish]], where initial */lj/ (written by ''lj'') has also became /j/ (this does not apply to Swedish spoken in Finland).
* Most [[Komi-Zyrian language|Zyrian dialects of Komi]] vocalize syllable-final {{IPA|/l/}} in various ways, which may result in {{IPA|[v]}}, {{IPA|[u]}}, or [[vowel length]].
* [[Veps language|Veps]] also vocalizes original syllable-final *l to {{IPA|/u/}}.

==See also==
* [[Ł–l merger]]
* [[Regional accents of English]]
* [[Ł]]
* [[Speech_sound_disorder#Lambdacism|Lambdacism]]

==References==
* Labov, William, Sharon Ash, and Charles Boberg. 2006. ''The Atlas of North American English''. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. {{ISBN|3-11-016746-8}}.
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/transcree-uni.htm Transcribing Estuary English, by J. C. Wells] - discusses the phonetics of l-vocalization in Estuary English and Cockney.

{{History of English}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:L-Vocalization}}
[[Category:English phonology]]
[[Category:Dialects of English]]
[[Category:Splits and mergers in English phonology]]
[[Category:American English]]