The alveolar lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar lateral approximants is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is l.

Features

Features of the alveolar lateral approximant:

• Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by bringing one articulator close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.
• Its place of articulation is alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue — termed respectively apical and laminal — against the alveolar ridge.
• Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
• It is a lateral consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the sides of the tongue, rather than the middle of the tongue.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

In English

The lateral alveolar approximant occurs in English, and it is the sound denoted by the letter "l" in lip or please. However, the sound denoted by the letter "l" in bell and milk is a different sound in some dialects, the velarized alveolar lateral approximant.

See also

• List of phonetics topics

Alveolar consonants | Approximants

Alveolární laterální aproximanta | Stimmhafter lateraler alveolarer Approximant | Consonne spirante latérale alvéolaire voisée | 歯茎側面接近音 | Lateral alveolar | Consoană sonantă laterală alveolară | Alveolar lateral approximant