long vowel + l

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kamalmuo

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I am not sure about the pronunciation of this sound l when it comes after a long vowel in American English such as the word feel, oil and school.
Thanks for the help;-)
 

luke2

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Hmm. I'm not sure exactly what aspect of the pronunciation is giving you trouble here. But I can say:

1). the "-l" after these vowels causes them to lengthen. Thus the vowel is "feel" is long: [fi:l]. The vowel in "feet" is noticeable shorter: [fit]

2). the word "oil" is very volatile in different American dialects. You might hear it pronounced [oil], [ɔil], [ɔ:l], [o:l] or something else. To a more limited degree, these same dialects with do the same thing with words like "foil", "coil", etc.

3). As far as the -l itself, it's pretty much like any other final l in English. It is not darkened nearly as much as it is in Britain, where you would hear "feel" as [fi:ɫ]
 

BobK

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:hi: I didn't know that about Am English pronunciations of 'oil'. Thanks. :up: ;-)

b
 
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