A voiced velar lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used as a distinct consonant in a very small number of spoken languages in the world. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that has represented this sound since 1989 is , a small capital letter l.
Velar laterals often involve a prestopped realization .
According to , the extremely short duration of in intervocalic position (20–30 ms) in some of the languages in New Guinea, such as Kanite and Melpa, warrants calling it a voiced velar lateral tap. The IPA has no specific symbol for this sound, but it may be represented with a breve for extra-short, such as , to indicate a tapped consonant.
It is reported that some dialects of English may have a voiced uvular lateral approximant, which can be represented in the IPA as (a retracted ), though evidence of this consonant is limited.
Features Features of a voiced velar lateral approximant:
A velar lateral involves no contact of the tip of the tongue with the roof of the mouth: just like for a velar stop , the only contact takes place between the back of the tongue and the velum. This contrasts with a velarized alveolar lateral approximant – also known as the dark l in English feel – for which the apex touches the alveolar ridge.
Occurrence Velar Language Word IPA Meaning Notes English Southern US middle 'middle' May occur before or after a velar consonant, as in milk and cycle, when assimilating , as in wolf, or before labial consonants, as in help. More often realized as . See English phonologyfull 'full' Hiw r̄evr̄ov 'evening' May be realized as prestopped , affricate , or laterally released stop . Kanite 'dog'May be realized as an affricate or a tap . Melpa paⱡa 'fence' May be realized as prestopped or tapped . Mid-Wahgi aglagle 'dizzy' May be realized as prestopped .
Uvular Language Word IPA Meaning Notes English Some American speakers wool 'wool' May be velar or simply alveolar instead. See English phonology.
See also Voiceless velar lateral approximant, Velarized alveolar lateral approximant, Voiceless alveolar lateral fricative, Voiced velar lateral fricative, Voiceless velar lateral fricative, or extIPA Index of phonetics articles
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