Difference between /əl/ and /əʊ/

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thincat

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Hello everyone,
I am not a native English speaker.
Can anybody tell me the differences in pronouncing /əl/ and /əʊ/?
To me, it seems that they sound the same.
It's quite confusing.:-(

Thank you in advance for your help!
 

thincat

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To be more specific:
For example, according to dictionary, "financial" is pronounced as /faɪˈnænʃ
ə
l/
If I pronounce it as
/faɪˈnænʃ
əʊ
/, is there any difference?
If yes, what is the major differences in the position of tongue, roundedness of lips etc.?

Thank you very much!
 

Raymott

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Hello everyone,
I am not a native English speaker.
Can anybody tell me the differences in pronouncing /əl/ and /əʊ/?
To me, it seems that they sound the same.
It's quite confusing.:-(

Thank you in advance for your help!
/əʊ/ is the 'o' sound in "photo, phone, bone, no, know ..."
I don't think /əI/ (small cap I) is used. Where did you see it? In any case, it's not the same as /əʊ/; it can't be.
 

5jj

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thincat

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It's supposed to be schwa followed by lower case L.

Yes, you are right. It's lower case L.
(financial: /fa ɪˈnæn. ʃəl/)

So, do you know what's the differences in the
manner of articulation between /əl/ and /əʊ/?

Thanks a lot!
 

BobK

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Sometimes the /l/ is subject to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labialisation; in this case //əl/ approaches [əʊ].

My phonetics teacher (early '70s) had been a teacher of German. He told us that when he was teaching in the East End of London, he got his students to pronounce the German /o/ (very close to the cardinal [o]) by telling them to copy the vowel sound that they used at the end of the word 'people'.

b
 

thincat

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Bobk:
Thank you very much for your reply.
Do you mean that there is lip-rounding in /l/ of /əl/, so that /əl/ resembles /əʊ/?
If it is the case, do I need to move my tongue to the alveolar ridge when approaching /l/ in /əl/, or just simply use a /əʊ/ sound to replace?

Thanks!:)
 

BobK

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Yes, that's what happens (lip-rounding) in some cases (some /l/s in some phonetic contexts, more so in some accents than in others). But note that the Wikipedia article refers to it as a feature of 'secondary articulation'. It's never essential, and it's often wrong. Don't do it.

b
 

BobK

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Yes, that's what happens (lip-rounding) in some cases (some /l/s in some phonetic contexts, more so in some accents than in others). But note that the Wikipedia article refers to it as a feature of 'secondary articulation'. It's never essential, and it's often wrong. Don't do it.

b
 

konungursvia

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The first is made with the tongue touching the palate, the second is produced with the lips closing into a small opening.
 
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