/l/as in “light”

Consonant

How to pronounce /l/ in English

The /l/ sound is an alveolar, voiced, liquid consonant.

Voiced
Lateral
Alveolar

Jaw
Open your mouth slightly.
Tongue
Place the tip of your tongue on the ridge behind your upper front teeth. Lower the back of your tongue.
Lips
Relax your lips - they aren't involved.

Example words

light
hello
ball
feel
class

Common mistakes

Final L

That came out as /n/. Air should flow around the sides of the tongue, not through the nose.

How to practise

A final L is a "dark L": the tongue tip touches the ridge behind your top teeth while the back of the tongue lifts.
Hold that position to the end of the word; do not open it into "luh".
Before a vowel, link it: "feel_it".

Easily confused words

see · seal
pay · pail
row · role
toe · toll
bow · bowl

L or N

/l/ came out as /n/. Let the air out around the sides of the tongue, not through the nose.
/n/ came out as /l/. Let the air through the nose.

How to practise

/n/ goes through the nose: pinch your nose and you cannot say it.
/l/ goes around the sides of the tongue: pinch your nose and it still sounds.
Practise "light" with your nose pinched: if it still comes out clearly, it was /l/.

Easily confused words

light · night
low · no
lot · not
line · nine

Opening clusters

A vowel slipped in between the consonants. Glide straight from one to the next.

How to practise

Build the word from the end of the cluster: "eat" → "treat" → "street".
Keep the whole cluster in one syllable, with no gap between the consonants.
Never add a vowel at the front or in the middle: "street", not "suh-treet".

Easily confused words

pay · play
rain · train
port · sport
cool · school
top · stop

Practise /l/ with Letty

Say any sentence and Letty scores every sound, showing which one to fix. On iPhone, iPad and Mac, no internet needed.

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