[l]→[ʌ]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Alveolar lateral approximant to Open-mid back unrounded vowel

The shift from the lateral approximant [l] to the back/central unrounded vowel [ʌ] (the 'strut' or 'caret' vowel) is a common form of L-vocalization in Southeast England. It is particularly prominent in syllabic contexts where the [l] functions as the nucleus of the syllable.

Phonetic Effects

L-vocalization, Anaptyxis

Language Examples

Estuary / Cockney English Germanic

little [ˈlɪtɫ̩]→[ˈlɪʔʌ] / [ˈlɪʔʊ]— The final syllabic lateral is replaced by a vowel approaching the STRUT space.

milk→[mɪʌk]— In rapid speech, the dark L can vocalize into a central-back unrounded quality.

Related Transformations

Reverse

More Germanic Shifts

[a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ʔ] — Glottalization [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [ʕ] → [a] — Vocalization

Sources & References

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