Velar lateral approximant
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IPA – number	158
IPA – text	ʟ
IPA – image
Entity	ʟ
X-SAMPA	L\
Kirshenbaum	L
Sound sample (help·info)

The velar lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ʟ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is L\.

Features

Features of the velar lateral approximant:

• Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by bringing one articulator close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.
• Its place of articulation is velar which means it is articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the velum).
• Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
• It is a lateral consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the sides of the tongue, rather than the middle of the tongue.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

Found in

Occurrence

See also

• List of phonetics topics
• Velarized alveolar lateral approximant (an acoustically similar but articulatorily distinct sound)

References

Bibliography

• Roca, Iggy & Wyn Johnson (1999), A Course in Phonology, Blackwell Publishing