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Velarization and u-Vocalization of l in German Dialects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Carl Selmer*
Affiliation:
Hunter College

Extract

The l-sound, which we may consider to be without any special timbre, be it light or dark, is the alveolar or dental l, in the formation of which the tip of the tongue, resting at or near the teeth, plays an important part. For all nations, even those which otherwise show colored variations of it, apply this l at the beginning of words in order to introduce the vowel. This l cannot be affected by any preceding vowel. It is also the same colorless l which elocutionists (in England, D. Jones of Oxford; in America, W. Tilly of Columbia University, New York) recommend for use in all cases. According to their opinion, the dark semivelar sound, heard so frequently in English, is looked upon as vulgar. It may, however, be an open question whether such a procedure is not a strongly artificial interference with a natural, long-drawn-out development in the course of many centuries.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1933

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