A couple of years ago, I worked closely with one of the pronunciation coaches in a local college. My job was to listen to students and correct the sounds they were confusing. Each week we practiced a different sound so I noticed how people had their own challenges depending on their native language.
One day, one of the Korean students said something about the “Democratic erection.” Of course he meant to say “Democratic election” but he didn’t even realize that instead of /l/ he produced /ɹ/. This is actually a common challenge for many students whose native languages are Korean, Japanese, and some other tongues spoken in Asia. If you have ever found it hard to differentiate between these two sounds, keep reading because this post is especially for you 🙂.
But even if you don’t have a problem with differentiation between these two phonemes, you may find information in this post useful, especially considering the fact that the American R /ɹ/ is an exotic sound from the perspective of many other languages.
R /ɹ/ and L /l/ – differences in pronunciation
The American R /ɹ/ is usually produced by curling the tip of the tongue slightly upward towards the roof of the mouth and pressing the sides of the tongue against the inner side of the upper teeth. When the R appears in the beginning of a word or before a vowel, the lips should be rounded and slightly pushed forward. The most important point is to not allow the tip of the tongue to touch anywhere.
L /l/ on the other hand, is produced by placing the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth and touching the alveolar ridge, the bony part behind the upper teeth.
The confusion for many Asian speakers of English comes from the fact that often they don’t make a distinction between these two sounds. This is because, unlike in English, in some Asian languages, the R and L are produced in the same way – by a rapid touch of the tip of the tongue to the upper teeth. This creates a sound that is similar to either a trill /r/ or tap or flap /ɾ/ and this is the reason why many Korean, Japanese, and other Asian nonnative English speakers perceive these sounds to be the same.
To eliminate this confusion, make sure that you don’t allow the tip of your tongue to touch anywhere when you pronounce the R /ɹ/. When you pronounce the L /l/, however, do the opposite – place the tip of your tongue on the alveolar ridge and don’t move it while producing the sound. That is, when you activate your vocal cords and blow air out of your mouth, make sure that the tip of the tongue is solidly placed behind the upper teeth and doesn’t vibrate. If you allow it to detach even for a moment, it will start vibrating and the resulting sound might resemble R /ɹ/. That’s why, it’s crucial that your alveolar ridge and the tip of your tongue are “glued” together for the L sound.
Making a clear distinction between R /ɹ/ and L /l/ is salient because in English there are many minimal pairs and a slight mispronunciation can cause confusion.
Minimal pairs
Minimal pairs are words that differ in only one sound. For minimal pairs that differ by /ɹ/ and /l/, if you confuse these two sounds, you may produce a word of a different meaning. Below you will find three tables with such minimal pairs with the confusing sounds at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the words.
R /ɹ/ or L /l/ at the beginning of a word
| r | /ɹ/ | l | /l/ |
|---|---|---|---|
| rust | /ɹʌst/ | lust | /lʌst/ |
| race | /ɹeɪs/ | lace | /leɪs/ |
| rack | /ɹæk/ | lack | /læk/ |
| rain | /ɹeɪn/ | lane | /leɪn/ |
| raise | /ɹeɪz/ | lays | /leɪz/ |
| ramp | /ɹæmp/ | lamp | /læmp/ |
| rate | /ɹeɪt/ | late | /leɪt/ |
| ray | /ɹeɪ/ | lay | /leɪ/ |
| reader | /ˈɹiː.dɚ/ | leader | /ˈliː.dɚ/ |
| red | /ɹɛd/ | led | /lɛd/ |
| reef | /ɹiːf/ | leaf | /liːf/ |
| rental | /ˈɹɛn.təl/ | lentil | /ˈlɛn.təl/ |
| rhyme | /ɹaɪm/ | lime | /laɪm/ |
| rice | /ɹaɪs/ | lice | /laɪs/ |
| right | /ɹaɪt/ | light | /laɪt/ |
| rise | /ɹaɪz/ | lies | /laɪz/ |
| road | /ɹoʊd/ | load | /loʊd/ |
| rock | /ɹɑːk/ | lock | /lɑːk/ |
| rush | /ɹʌʃ/ | lush | /lʌʃ/ |
| rye | /ɹaɪ/ | lie | /laɪ/ |
| wrack | /ɹæk/ | lack | /læk/ |
| wrap | /ɹæp/ | lap | /læp/ |
| write | /ɹaɪt/ | light | /laɪt/ |
| writer | /ˈɹaɪ.tɚ/ | lighter | /ˈlaɪ.tɚ/ |
| wrong | /ɹɒːŋ/ | long | /lɒːŋ/ |
R /ɹ/ or L /l/ at the middle of a word
| r | /ɹ/ | l | /l/ |
|---|---|---|---|
| breast | /bɹɛst/ | blessed | /blɛst/ |
| breed | /bɹiːd/ | bleed | /bliːd/ |
| correct | /kəˈɹɛkt/ | collect | /kəˈlɛkt/ |
| crash | /kɹæʃ/ | clash | /klæʃ/ |
| crew | /kɹuː/ | clue | /kluː/ |
| crowd | /kɹaʊd/ | cloud | /klaʊd/ |
| crown | /kɹaʊn/ | clown | /klaʊn/ |
| fresh | /fɹɛʃ/ | flesh | /flɛʃ/ |
| fries | /fɹaɪz/ | flies | /flaɪz/ |
| fry | /fɹaɪ/ | fly | /flaɪ/ |
| grass | /ɡɹæs/ | ɡlass | /ɡlæs/ |
| grow | /ɡɹoʊ/ | ɡlow | /ɡloʊ/ |
| pirate | /ˈpaɪ.ɹət/ | pilot | /ˈpaɪ.lət/ |
| praise | /pɹeɪz/ | plays | /pleɪz/ |
| present | /ˈpɹɛ.zənt/ | pleasant | /ˈplɛ.zənt/ |
| pray | /pɹeɪ/ | play | /pleɪ/ |
R /ɹ/ or L /l/ at the end of a word
| r | /ɹ/ | l | /l/ |
|---|---|---|---|
| air | /ɛɹ/ | L | /ɛl/ |
| bear | /bɛɹ/ | bell | /bɛl/ |
| beer | /bɪɹ/ | bill | /bɪl/ |
| fear | /fɪɹ/ | fill | /fɪl/ |
| hair | /hɛɹ/ | hell | /hɛl/ |
| hear | /hiɹ/ | heal | /hiːl/ |
| more | /mɔːɹ/ | mall | /mɔːl/ |
| spare | /spɛɹ/ | spell | /spɛl/ |
| wear | /wɛɹ/ | well | /wɛl/ |
| where | /wɛɹ/ | well | /wɛl/ |
Difficult phoneme combinations
In addition to the minimal pairs, you may want to practice pronunciation of words where phonemes /ɹ/ and /l/ appear in neighbor positions. I divided such sample words into 4 categories: words with /ɹ/ followed by /l/, words with the stir sound /ɝː/ (such as in girl /ɡɝːl/, world /wɝːld/, etc.) followed by /l/, words with rhotic schwa /ɚ/ (such as in mother /ˈmʌ.ðɚ/, overlay /ˌoʊ.vɚˈleɪ/, etc.) followed by /l/, and words with /l/ followed by /ɹ/.
RL /ɹl/ combo
| rl | /ɹl/ |
|---|---|
| barley | /ˈbɑɹ.li/ |
| clearly | /ˈklɪɹ.li/ |
| dearly | /ˈdɪɹ.li/ |
| fairly | /ˈfɛɹ.li/ |
| hourly | /ˈaʊɹ.li/ |
| nearly | /ˈnɪɹ.li/ |
| poorly | /ˈpʊɹ.li/ |
| surely | /ˈʃʊɹ.li/ |
| yearly | /ˈjɪɹ.li/ |
| airline | /ˈɛɹ.laɪn/ |
| cheerleader | /ˈtʃɪɹˌliː.dɚ/ |
| darling | /ˈdɑːɹ.lɪŋ/ |
| garlic | /ˈɡɑːɹ.lɪk/ |
| hairline | /ˈhɛɹˌlaɪn/ |
| parliament | /ˈpɑːɹ.lə.mənt/ |
| parlor | /ˈpɑːɹ.lɚ/ |
| starlet | /ˈstɑːɹ.lət/ |
| warlord | /ˈwɔːɹˌlɔːɹd/ |
| fearless | /ˈfɪɹ.ləs/ |
| hairless | /ˈhɛɹ.ləs/ |
| Carl | /kɑːɹl/ |
| Charlie | /ˈtʃɑːɹ.li/ |
| Charles | /tʃɑːɹlz/ |
| Charlotte | /ˈʃɑːɹ.lət/ |
| Harley | /ˈhɑːɹ.li/ |
| Orlando | /ɔːɹˈlæn.doʊ/ |
| Scarlett | /ˈskɑːɹ.lət/ |
Stir sound followed by L /ɝːl/
| _rl | /ɝːl/ |
|---|---|
| pearl | /pɝːl/ |
| swirl | /swɝːl/ |
| twirl | /twɝːl/ |
| whirl | /wɝːl/ |
| early | /ˈɝː.li/ |
| girlie | /ˈɡɝː.li/ |
| earlier | /ˈɝː.li.ɚ/ |
| girlfriend | /ˈɡɝːl.fɹɛnd/ |
| sterling | /ˈstɝː.lɪŋ/ |
| world | /wɝːld/ |
| Berlin | /bɝːˈlɪn/ |
| Shirley | /ˈʃɝː.li/ |
| Sherlock | /ˈʃɝːˌlɑːk/ |
Rhotic schwa followed by L /ɚl/
| _rl | /ɚl/ |
|---|---|
| bitterly | /ˈbɪ.tɚ.li/ |
| cleverly | /ˈklɛ.vɚ.li/ |
| elderly | /ˈɛl.dɚ.li/ |
| formerly | /ˈfɔːɹ.mɚ.li/ |
| orderly | /ˈɔːɹ.dɚ.li/ |
| overly | /ˈoʊ.vɚ.li/ |
| particularly | /pɚˈtɪk.jə.lɚ.li/ |
| properly | /ˈpɹɑː.pɚ.li/ |
| quarterly | /ˈkwɔːɹ.tɚ.li/ |
| regularly | /ˈɹɛ.ɡjə.lɚ.li/ |
| similarly | /ˈsɪ.mə.lɚ.li/ |
| borderline | /ˈbɔːɹ.dɚ.laɪn/ |
| hyperlink | /ˈhaɪ.pɚˌlɪŋk/ |
| motherland | /ˈmʌ.ðɚˌlænd/ |
| overlap | /ˌoʊ.vɚˈlæp/ |
| overlay | /ˌoʊ.vɚˈleɪ/ |
| overload | /ˌoʊ.vɚˈloʊd/ |
| overlook | /ˌoʊ.vɚˈlʊk/ |
| powerless | /ˈpaʊ.ɚ.ləs/ |
| underline | /ˌʌn.dɚˈlaɪn/ |
| wonderland | /ˈwʌn.dɚˌlænd/ |
| colorless | /ˈkʌ.lɚ.ləs/ |
| flavorless | /ˈfleɪ.vɚ.ləs/ |
| Beverly | /ˈbɛ.vɚ.li/ |
| Netherlands | /ˈnɛ.ðɚ.ləndz/ |
| Switzerland | /ˈswɪ.tsɚ.lənd/ |
| Waterloo | /ˌwɔː.tɚˈluː/ |
LR /lɹ/ combo
| lr | /lɹ/ |
|---|---|
| already | /ɒːlˈɹɛ.di/ |
| alright | /ˌɒːlˈɹaɪt/ |
| jewelry | /ˈdʒuː.əl.ɹi/ |
| rivalry | /ˈɹaɪ.vəl.ɹi/ |
| railroad | /ˈɹeɪl.ɹoʊd/ |
| ballroom | /ˈbɒːlˌɹʊm/ |
| cavalry | /ˈkæ.vəl.ɹi/ |
| mailroom | /ˈmeɪlˌɹuːm/ |
Practice the sentences below
Now let’s put these words into sentences and do some more practice:
Carl owns the local railroad and airline.
His darling girlfriend Shirley was a cheerleader in a ballroom in Berlin.
Charlotte was wearing jewelry made of pearl and colorless stones.
This girl’s lovely hair was particularly curly.
The writer tried to write a rhyme, but got it wrong.
The light green lime was long and flavorless.
Charlie, a fearless warlord, cleverly negotiated with parliament earlier that day.
Charlotte thinks the Netherlands has the best barley and garlic in the world.
The airline crew and pilot saw a crowd of clouds.
The pirate wore a crown and a clown nose that glowed.
It’s relatively rare to see Larry eating roasted cauliflower.
Slice raw kohlrabi into smaller pieces and serve with kale and rice.
The rules were arbitrarily selected causing frustration by the lack of transparency.
The red squirrel was barely visible against the blurry background.
I can’t care less about the brown barrel filled with red liquor.
★
Are the American English R /ɹ/ and L /l/ hard for you to pronounce? Can you hear the difference between these two sounds? Let me know in the comment section. Remember, the more we know about each other’s differences, the better communicators we become. And isn’t communication the most important human skill 😉?
Here are some other posts about pronunciation in English:
Confusing English pronunciation: voiceless stops
Confusing English pronunciation: L vs. W
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