Uvular /l/ (Was: velarized /l/ again)

[Tom Zurinskas]

A nasal "l"!
Yeah, I can do that as you've described, I think.  Quite a difficult stretch.

The "l" sound has a vowelish part prior to a tongue flap.  This is probably why some folks "syllablize" it because of the vowel part.  The vowel part involves the back of the throat like all the other vowels.  I'd say the tongue is lower for it than long e or long u vowel.  Maybe the tongue is close to long i or long o for saying "l".  I wouldn't call it velar, anymore than I'd call the other vowel sounds velar.

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL5+
see truespel.com




----------------------------------------
> Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:23:27 -0400
> From: nwhitman at AMERITECH.NET
> Subject: Re: Uvular /l/ (Was: velarized /l/ again)
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Neal Whitman
> Subject: Re: Uvular /l/ (Was: velarized /l/ again)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Clarification: When they talk about "velar /l/" here, they mean velarIZED
> (and I think most of them do write 'velarized' instead of 'velar', just as
> in the title of the post). As at least one poster has pointed out, a
> velarIZED /l/ is indeed alveolar: The tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge,
> but even so, at the same time, the back of the tongue rises somewhat as
> well. (Is it higher than it goes for the [i] sound, an issue you've brought
> up? I don't know, but I do know it goes up. If you don't do it, your /l/s
> sound a little off, like Jerry Reed calling the judge a "hillbilly" in "When
> You're Hot, You're Hot, or like Snigdha Prakash when she says "dollars.")
>
> However, when I talk about a uvular /l/, I do mean uvular. I know from
> personal experience of making my /l/s this way as a kid that the tip of my
> tongue stayed on the floor of my mouth, and the back of my tongue touched
> the way back part of my soft palate (i.e. uvula). This sound really doesn't
> have anything in common with /l/ at all from an articulatory perspective
> (other than being a voiced continuant). The airstream is not escaping along
> the sides of the tongue, as it does for alveolar /l/; it's coming out the
> nose, as it does for [m, n, N]. The only reason I call it an /l/ is that
> people who use it really do use it as their realization of /l/. All I can
> guess is that acoustically it must bear a fair resemblance to alveolar /l/.
> And to make it, I suggest starting to make the [N] ("ng") sound and really
> stretch it out. While you're doing that, slowly slide your tongue backwards
> so that the contact point is maybe 5mm further back, and then you'll
> probably be making this sound. And if you want to hear what one sounds like,
> listen to Ira Glass on any episode of This American Life; I'm almost
> positive that's how he's making his /l/s.
>
> Neal
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tom Zurinskas"
> To:
> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 3:46 PM
> Subject: Re: Uvular /l/ (Was: velarized /l/ again)
>
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail
>> header -----------------------
>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: Tom Zurinskas
>> Subject: Re: Uvular /l/ (Was: velarized /l/ again)
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> I can make that "l" fricative sound. Just keep the tongue flat and pinch
>> the cheeks in and get a fricative around the tongue and cheeks when making
>> an "l".
>>
>> I Can't do a velar or uvular "l" if I try. I would say "l" is not velar
>> of uvular at all, alveolar.
>>
>> I think "l" works like "m". where for "m" there is a vocal component
>> while the lips are together then releases when the lips part to say a
>> vowel. Just so the "l" has a vocal (vowelish) component that releases
>> when the tongue flaps down.
>>
>> Most salient "l" is Joe Namath's. I think he does it with a wide rather
>> than narrow tongue.
>>
>>
>> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL5+
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
_________________________________________________________________
Windows Live™: Life without walls.
http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_allup_1a_explore_032009

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org