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the dark L in English is at the end of a word such as "girl", "pencil" or when it is followed by a consonant sound such as "child".

I'm curious what is happening with the dark L during a linking scenario. Does the dark L still maintain its quality of being a dark L or just becomes a normal lighter L? I mean when one word ends in a consonant sound and next starts with a vowel sound, such as: "tell us". The words "tell" and "us" are linked.

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  • In RP, /l/ is clear before vowels, unless it is a syllabic consonant, in which case it's varies.
    – Araucaria - him
    Apr 15 at 12:54
  • I speak General American English. I am not sure how much "linking" is a thing in my brand of English; however, I think I do lighten the /l/ in "tell us" compare with the /l/ in "tell"; however, I do not think I lighten it as far as the /l/ in "palace." My guess is that there is marked variation among the American dialects, with some retaining a dark /l/ in all circumstances.
    – Vegawatcher
    Apr 15 at 14:50
  • From English StackExchange: L in the middle of a word: dark l or light l?
    – Michaelyus
    Apr 17 at 22:49

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