“Laethanta Breátha” a thugaimísne mar leasainm orthu, ainm sheanabhlastúil, mar dhe ná raibh aon fhocal eile Gaeilge ina bpus ach an beannú so a dhéanfaidíst ar an mbóthar duit leis an dá fhocal — “Lá breá!”
Is minic, nuair a chuimhním ar an scéal ó shoin, a deirim liom féin dá gcuardóidíst an teanga ó cheann ceann gur dheacair dóibh aon dá fhocal a tharrac chúchu ba dheacra dhóibh a rá ó thaobh na foghraíochta ná an dá fhocal chéanna, go mórmhór agus an “L” mór leathan atá againn i nDún Chaoin a thairgímíd aníos amach as ár sceolmhaigh, agus an tsuaithinseacht foghraíochta a leanann an focal “breá” againn.
— Pádraig Ua Maoileoin, "Na hAird Ó Thuaidh"
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l — This is a velarized voiced lateral consonant, formed by pressing the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth, leaving a passage on both sides of the tongue for the escape of the air. It corresponds to
d with regard to lip-position and glides...The 'dark' or velarized quality of this
l is particularly noticeable in final position.
— Brian Ó Cuív, "The Irish of West Muskerry, Co. Cork"
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l
§ 245. The principal sound represented by
l differs very little from
γ. Indeed some speakers make no distinction between the two sounds.
The tip and blade of the tongue are lowered so that there is no closure in the middle of the mouth, and the back of the tongue arches upwards towards the soft palate. Usually the mouth passage is narrowed sufficiently, by this raising of the back of the tongue, to cause audible friction. The vocal chords vibrate.
l has a quality approximating to short
u or half-close
o:.
§ 246. For most speakers this
l-sound is distinguished from
γ by its lip position.
l tends to be
pronounced with a rather rounded lip position. The rather vague term "tense" seems also to be applicable to this sound: there seems to be a sort of tightening or constriction in the pharynx.
§ 247. In the speech of P.T. and M.T., I distinguish
l from
γ mainly by the difference in lip position, i.e. a neutral lip-position for
γ and a rounded position for
l...
§ 252. In the group
lt, which occurs rarely,
l represents a
velarised dental lateral, i.e. the tip and blade of the tongue touch the backs of the upper front teeth and the teeth-ridge, and the air escapes at one or both sides of the tongue, the back of the tongue being raised to the
u-position
1...
1 In other words a sound very like the 'dark' l heard in Southern English in final position and before consonants. In the Cockney dialect of London there is a tendency to lose the contact in the front of the mouth, as in the case of the principal l-sound described here (§ 245–247). The Cockney sound and the sound described here are not identical, but a comparison will be useful. For an account of the Cockney sound see Ward, The Phonetics of English, p. 142 sq. § 255. The
l-sound described in § 252 may be heard as an occasional variant of the other
l-sounds described here, from some speakers within the district.
I have heard the dental lateral used consistently in all positions by a speaker from a district north of Dungarvan. — Risteard B. Breatnach, "The Irish of Ring, Co. Waterford"
(Message edited by Peadar Ó Gríofa on September 24, 2005)
