[l]→[w]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Alveolar lateral approximant to Voiced labio-velar approximant

L-vocalization is the process by which an alveolar lateral approximant [l] is replaced by a labio-velar approximant [w] or a similar vowel sound. It typically occurs in coda positions where the lateral closure is lost, leaving only the velarization.

Phonetic Effects

L-vocalization

Language Examples

Polish Slavic

ł [ɫ]→[w]— Historical 'dark l' (ł) became [w] in modern standard Polish (e.g., 'mały' [mawɨ]).

English (Cockney / Estuary) Germanic

wall [wɔːɫ]→[wɔːw]— Common in many modern British dialects in syllable-final position.

Related Transformations

Reverse Vocalic realization

More Germanic Shifts

[a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ʔ] — Glottalization [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction [æ] → [ɛ] — Vowel Raising

Sources & References

Spotted a mistake or have a better example?

EchoDrift is community-driven. You can suggest a change directly through GitHub.

Propose an Edit on GitHub