In this video we are going to learn all about the light & dark /l/. The sound /l/ is a lateral approximant, also sometimes called a sonorant. It can be divided into light and dark /l/.

The dark /l/ is velarized which means the back of our tongue is raised towards the velum. It occurs after a vowel or diphthong in a syllable. The light /l/ is non-velarized, also often called ‘clear’. It typically occurs before a vowel or diphthong in a syllable.

It is important to remember that light & dark /l/ are still just one phoneme and cannot make a difference in meaning in a word. That means there are no minimal pairs for light and dark /l/ in English. You will also learn how to show velarization in IPA and at the end there is a pronunciation practice for both: light & dark /l/.