Pronunciation in a standard southern British English accent (a variant of what's known as RP, or received pronunciation) can be a tricky thing. Not least of all when it comes to pronouncing an L; the subject of today's lesson.
Here's what we'll cover:
The Position Of The Tongue Tip For An L
The Difference Between A Light L And A Dark L
When To Use A Light and Dark L In An RP Accent
How To Practice Your Pronunciation Of The Light And Dark L
If reading isn't your thing, here's a handy video explaining everything:
The Position Of The Tongue Tip For An L
The first important thing is to know what speakers of this accent do with their tongue tip.
The tip of the tongue is raised touching the gum ridge (alveolar ridge). Play the video above to hear this.
If you say 'Laura' or 'lazy' most of you will notice that the tip of your tongue touches a part of the roof of your mouth.
Exactly where it touches isn't actually that important, as it doesn't really affect the quality of the sound. Just try to keep it more towards the front rather than the back.
What If The Tip Of My Tongue Doesn't Go Up?
In some words, you may notice that your tongue tip doesn't rise for the L.
In words like 'calm', 'talk' and 'would', don't worry, as these are silent in most variations of English.
But in words like 'feel', 'mail' and 'toil', the tongue tip would rise in this accent. If yours doesn't, you are likely to be rounding your lips instead, making a sound that is a bit like 'oo' as in 'who'.
This way, 'feel' might sound more like 'fee-oo' and 'toil' more like 'toi-oo' (play the video above to hear this).
To pronounce the L in words like these, trying adding a vowel sound after them, so that 'feel' becomes 'feeling' and 'toil' becomes 'toiling'. You'll probably notice that now your tongue does rise (more about why later).
Convince yourself that you are about to say 'feeling' but just before the '-ing' pause with the tongue tip touching the roof of the mouth. Practice this with other words that are similar (play the video above to hear this).
The Difference Between A Light L And A Dark L
Some call a light L and clear L or even soft L. Some call a dark L a hard L. Whatever term is used, the difference is made by changing the position of the back of the tongue.
For a light L the back of the tongue is low. For a dark L the back of the tongue is raised.
Play the video above to hear this.
How To Pronounce A Light L
To get the back of the tongue low, try starting with the vowel 'ar' in 'car' or think the sound you make when yawning or opening the throat for the doctor 'aahhh'. In these sounds, the back of the tongue is low in the back of the mouth.
Then add an L but try to keep that feeling of space in the back of your mouth, something like 'aahhh - L - aahhh' (play the video above to hear this).
Then try this going into a word starting with L, like 'aahhh - Laura' or 'aahhh - lazy'.
You should hear a sound that is bright and open, travelling freely into the front of your mouth. Play the video if in doubt.
Also, if you look in your mouth with a mirror, you should hope to see that the underside of the front of the tongue is right in the front of the mouth and clearly visible. This is not the case with the dark L.
How To Pronounce A Dark L
To get the back of the tongue raised, it could be helpful to precede the L with another sound where the back of the tongue is already raised, like G or K or NG or even the vowel 'oo' as in 'who'.
Say the word 'tog' and repeat the G a few times, noticing that the back of the tongue actually touches the back part of the roof of the mouth, but also that the sound is guttural or throaty and very much in the back of the mouth.
Then extend that into 'toggle', trying to keep or pull the sound into the back of your mouth or throat. Play around with other words like 'tickle' or 'bangle' or 'school'. Play the video if in doubt.
Also, remember that with the light L, if you look in your mouth with a mirror, you should hope to see that the underside of the front of the tongue is right in the front of the mouth and clearly visible. With the dark L however, the underside of the front of the tongue is very much pulled towards the back of the mouth, an is less visible. Have a go.
When To Use A Light And Dark L In An RP Accent?
If an L is followed by a spoken vowel sound, as in 'law', 'filament' and even 'happily' (the Y is spoken as the vowel 'ee' in this word' it is Light in this accent.
In all other positions, like at the end of a word, as in 'feel', or before another consonant, as in 'field', the L is dark.
Just be mindful that if the L is at the end of a word but the next word begins with a spoken vowel sound, and there is no pause between the words, as in 'feel awful' then the L become light!
Phonetic Symbols For The Light And Dark L
In dictionaries you will only with the phonemic symbol /l/ used for an L, which doesn't tell you if the L is light or dark. Phonetically a light L is /l/ and a dark L is /ɫ/.
How To Do A British Accent Course - free
Before I share with you some sentences that you can practice with, it's just worth knowing that I have a free course on the standard southern British English accent.
I also have a comprehensive eBook with 12 hrs of audio, that covers this and every aspect of pronunciation and intonation in a Standard Southern British English accent.
How To Practice Your Pronunciation Of The Light And Dark L
Here are some practice sentence (dark L is in bold and light L is underlined):
The lake was set in an idyllic location, nestled beneath the hillside.
Louise listened to the bells playing in the distance.
Charles could not believe his luck when he won the lottery.
Alex limped home holding his bleeding elbow.
Written by...
Ashley Howard MA, a UK voice coach with 18+ years experience, can help you speak the way you've always wanted to speak.
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