/l/ as an interdental?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Carolina1983

Junior Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2013
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Portuguese
Home Country
Brazil
Current Location
Brazil
[h=2]Hello, all! I´m posting here something I had "mis-posted". Thank you for your kind help, as always![/h] --
Hello again!
In "tell them", can /l/ become interdental? :?:
 

Asdherel

Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2013
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Spain
Current Location
Spain
Hello!
In my opinion, I think the "th" sound (/ð/) would be dropped in connected speech rather that the /l/ become interdental. That's what I've learnt at university ("them" is pronounced in its weak form, so it would be pronounced as /əm/).
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Hello again!
In "tell them", can /l/ become interdental? :?:
Yes, it can. As you transition from /l/ to /th/, your tongue can slide interdentally. In fact, it seems that in connected speech, it has to be so, because if you're ready to pronounce /th/, that's where you tongue is and you're still saying /l/. (The /l/ doesn't start there, of course. I'm understanding your 'become' as meaning during its articulation.)
"Tell'em" is a sub-standard form that occurs in rapid or careless speech. Naturally, as with 'with', there are regional and individual variations, but you don't want to teach "tell'em" as being standard.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top