Dark l

A dark l is a common way of referring to a velarised lateral consonant approximate. It also refers to a letter which has or currently does stand for such a sound; in Polish, an l with a short slash through the verticle, which stands for /w/. Many (though not all) dialects of English use a dark l before consonants other than /j/ (as in million /mIlj@n/) and a clear l (non-velarised) elsewhere. Irish English is a notable exception, which uses clear l's everywhere, and some English accents use [w], [u] or [o] instead of dark l's. In X-Sampa, it is denoted [5].

See also lateral consonant.