View source for Voiced velar lateral approximant

{{Short description|Consonantal sound represented by ⟨ʟ⟩ in IPA}}
{{Infobox IPA
|ipa symbol=ʟ
|ipa number=158
|decimal=671
|x-sampa=L\
|braille=in |braille2=l
|imagefile=IPA Unicode 0x029F.svg
|imagesize=150px
}}

The '''voiced velar lateral approximant''' is a type of [[consonant]]al sound, used as a distinct consonant in a very small number{{sfnp|François|2010|pp=422–426}} of [[Speech|spoken]] [[language]]s in the world. The symbol in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] that represents this sound is {{angbr IPA|ʟ}}, a [[Small caps|small capital]] version of the Latin letter [[l]] (since 1989), and the equivalent [[X-SAMPA]] symbol is <code>L\</code>.

The velar laterals of the world often involve a [[Pre-stopped consonant|prestopped]] realization {{IPA|[ɡ͡ʟ]}}.{{sfnp|François|2010|p=425}}

==Features==
Features of the voiced velar lateral approximant:

{{approximant}}
{{velar}}
{{voiced}}
{{oral}}
{{lateral}}
{{pulmonic}}

The velar lateral {{IPA|[ʟ]}} involves no contact of the [[Apical consonant|tip of the tongue]] with the roof of the mouth: just like for the velar stop {{IPA|[ɡ]}}, the only contact takes place between the [[Dorsal consonant|back of the tongue]] and the [[Velar consonant|velum]]. This contrasts with the [[velarized alveolar lateral approximant]] {{IPA|[ɫ]}} – also known as the dark ''l'' in English ''feel'' {{IPA|[fiːɫ]}} – for which the apex touches the [[alveolar ridge]].{{sfnp|François|2010|p=423}}

==Occurrence==
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan=2| Language
! Word
! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
! Meaning
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[English language|English]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Southern American English|Southern US]]{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=551}}
| [[English orthography|''midd'''l'''e'']]
|align=center| [ˈmɪɾʟ̩]
| 'middle'
| rowspan="2" | May occur before or after a [[velar consonant]], as in ''milk'' and ''cycle'', when assimilating /ʊ/, as in ''wolf'', or before [[labial consonant]]s, as in ''help''. See [[English phonology]]
|-
|[[English orthography|''f'''ull''''']]
|[ˈfʟ̩ː]
|'full'
|-
|colspan=2| [[Hiw language|Hiw]]{{sfnp|François|2010|p = 419}}
| '''''r̄'''ev'''r̄'''ov''
| {{IPA|[ɡ͡ʟəβˈɡ͡ʟɔβ]}}
| 'evening'
| Realized as [[Pre-stopped consonant|prestopped]] {{IPA|[ɡ͡ʟ]}}.
|-
|colspan=2| [[Melpa language|Melpa]]{{sfnp|Ladefoged|2005|p=169}}
| ''pa'''ⱡ'''a''
|align=center| {{Audio-IPA|Melpa-paLa.wav|[paʟa]}}
| 'fence'
| Realized as [[Pre-stopped consonant|prestopped]] {{IPA|[ɡ͡ʟ]}}.
|-
|colspan=2| [[Wahgi language|Mid-Wahgi]]{{sfnp|Roca|Johnson|1999|p=73}}
| ''a'''gl'''a'''gl'''e''
|align=center| {{IPA|[aʟaʟe]}}
| 'dizzy'
| Realized as [[Pre-stopped consonant|prestopped]] {{IPA|[ɡ͡ʟ]}}.
|}

==See also==
*[[Voiceless velar lateral approximant]], {{IPA|[ʟ̥]}}
*[[Velarized alveolar lateral approximant]], {{IPA|[ɫ]}}
*[[Voiceless alveolar lateral fricative]], {{IPA|[ɬ]}}
*[[Velar lateral tap]], {{IPA|[ʟ̆]}}
*[[Voiced velar lateral fricative]], {{IPA|[ʟ̝]}}
*[[Voiceless velar lateral fricative]], {{IPA|[ʟ̝̊]}} or [[extIPA]] {{IPA|[𝼄]}}
*[[Index of phonetics articles]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation
|doi=10.1017/s0952675710000205
|last=François
|first=Alexandre
|author-link=Alexandre François (linguist)
|year=2010
|title=Phonotactics and the prestopped velar lateral of Hiw: resolving the ambiguity of a complex segment
|journal=Phonology
|volume=27
|issue=3
|pages=393–434
|s2cid=62628417
|url=http://alex.francois.online.fr/data/AlexFrancois_Hiw-lateral_Phonology_published.pdf
}}
*{{citation
|last=Ladefoged
|first=Peter
|author-link=Peter Ladefoged
|year=2005
|title=Vowels and Consonants
|edition=2nd
|publisher=Blackwell
}}
*{{citation
|last1=Roca
|first1=Iggy 
|last2=Johnson
|first2=Wyn
|year=1999
|title=A Course in Phonology
|publisher=Blackwell Publishing
}}
* {{Accents of English|hide1=y|hide2=y}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{phoible|ʟ}}

{{IPA navigation}}

[[Category:Lateral consonants]]
[[Category:Velar consonants]]
[[Category:Pulmonic consonants]]
[[Category:Voiced oral consonants]]