Consonant Sound / l / as in “let”- American English Pronunciation

Learn how to pronounce the consonant sound /l/ used in words like “late,” “clean,” or “please.”
Improve your American accent with two phonetic exercises recorded by a professional speech therapist.
Practice pronunciation of the /l/ consonant sound in everyday words.
Enjoy a surprise bonus at the end of the video!

Learn more here:

Quick links:
• Consonant sound /l/, as in “let:” 00:00
• How to make the consonant sound /l/: 01:16
• Pronunciation exercise 1: 02:15
• Pronunciation tip: 04:12
• Pronunciation exercise 2: 04:28

Related videos:
#AmericanPronunciation #ConsonantSounds #LiquidSounds
► Consonant Sound Dark L as in “call”:

► Consonant Sound /r/ as in “run”:

► Advanced American Pronunciation Exercise for /r/ and /l/ sounds, as in “curriculum”:
► Pray or Play? Rain or Lane? American English Pronunciation:

► Pronunciation of American English Vowel Sounds:

► Advanced pronunciation exercises. Contrasting Vowels:

[THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, SPANISH, JAPANESE, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, AND PORTUGUESE SUBTITLES]
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TRANSCRIPT

Hello there! 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-/.
Let’s try saying it: /l/, /l/, /l/.

[Pronunciation exercise]
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. 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.

• lack
• lady
• lag
• laid
• lair
• lake
• lamb
• lame
• lamp
• land
• lane
• lap
• last
• late
• law
• lawn
• lay
• lazy
• lead
• leaf
• leak

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.
[Pronunciation exercise]

• blog
• blow
• blue
• clam
• clap
• claw
• clay
• clip
• club
• flag
• flap
• flat
• flee
• flip
• flop
• flow
• fly
• glad
• glow
• glue

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!

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