Voiced velar lateral approximant
A voiced velar lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used as a distinct consonant in a very small number of spoken languages in the world. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that has represented this sound since 1989 is, a small capital letter l.
Velar laterals often involve a prestopped realization.
According to, the extremely short duration of in intervocalic position in some of the languages in New Guinea, such as Kanite and Melpa, warrants calling it a voiced velar lateral tap. The IPA has no specific symbol for this sound, but it may be represented with a breve for extra-short, such as, to indicate a tapped consonant.
It is reported that some dialects of English may have a voiced uvular lateral approximant, which can be represented in the IPA as , though evidence of this consonant is limited.
Features
Features of a voiced velar lateral approximant:A velar lateral involves no contact of the tip of the tongue with the roof of the mouth: just like for a velar stop, the only contact takes place between the back of the tongue and the velum. This contrasts with a velarized alveolar lateral approximant – also known as the dark l in English feel – for which the apex touches the alveolar ridge.