This is the “Sounds American” channel.

In this video we’re going to talk about the American consonant sound /l/,

as in the word “let”.

You can also hear this sound in words like “low,”

“world,”

“like,”

or “place.”

We’ll be using a special phonetic symbol - /l/ - for this sound.

Many non-native English speakers have the /l/ sound in their native language,

but there may be subtle differences in how it’s pronounced.

These people typically are not aware that they have difficulty making the /l/ sound.

Other people don’t have the /l/ sound in their native language

and they’re very aware that they can’t pronounce the /l/ correctly.

They may sometimes confuse the /l/ with the /r/ or replace it with more familiar sounds.

Since you’re watching this video you may likely fall into one of the categories :).

So, let’s find out how to make this sound.

OK.

First, slightly open your mouth.

Next, pay attention to the position of your tongue.

This is key to making a correct /l/ sound.

Touch the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth with the tip of your tongue.

If you don’t know what the alveolar ridge is,

that’s where the pointer is right now.

Now, lower the back of your tongue.

If you make this sound correctly, you should be able to stretch out this sound,

like this:

/l-l-l-l/.

Let’s try saying it:

/l/

/l/

/l/

Now, let’s practice the /l/ sound in some words.

You’ll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation.

Like this.

You’ll have a few seconds to pronounce the word.

[sound prompt to start speaking]

Make sure you repeat the words after the speaker,

- that’s the only way to learn to pronounce the /l/ sound correctly.

Let’s begin.

Let’s pause here for a second and check how you’re making the /l/ sound.

The tip of your tongue should be touching the alveolar ridge

behind your upper front teeth

and the back of your tongue should be lowered.

Let’s continue practicing.

You’re done! Congratulations!

Did you know that there are two variations

of the pronunciation of the /l/ sound

based on its position in a word?

The /l/ at the beginning of a word

or before a vowel sound,

as in a word “plate”,

is called a light /l/

and we covered its pronunciation in this video.

The /l/ at the end of a word

or after a vowel,

as in words “pale” or “call’,

is called a dark /l/.

This will be a topic of one of our future videos

on the Sounds American channel!

Stay tuned and don’t forget to subscribe!