EMAIL vs. EMAI-OH - How to make the Dark L - American English

Don't mispronounce words that end in the Dark L -- many non-native speakers incorrectly make an 'oh' ending. Learn how to make the Dark L and the dark sound instead of the OH.
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[@CarinaFragozo]

A similar process occurs in Brazilian Portuguese. EFL learners tend to say [braˈzɪʊ] instead of [brəˈzɪl], as we don't have the dark "l' in our language (except for some dialects in the countryside). I'm a big fan of your channel, Rachel! Congratulations!

[@hadrielia]

+Carina Fragozo For me it's sort of easy to make the dark L sound because my grandmother used to say some words, like "sal" and "cal" with the dark L sound LOL She was brazilian, but her parents were portuguese, that's why she had a little bit of a portuguese (from Portugal) accent =D

[@rachelsenglish]

+Carina Fragozo Thank you, Carina! And thank you for your comments - it is great to have your input here! :)

[@AndersonSilva-tg1dt]

+Carina Fragozo Hi Carina, you around here, awesome! (I also follow your channel) Rachel is really fantastic. I'm a big fan too. My pronounce is a lot better because of her.

[@vipexpresstrading8834]

ESL, Meal, metal.

[@eds2gecilaine]

Carina Fragozo tu parece a filha do Zezé di Camargo e Luciano. Zezé di Camargo e Luciano. 😂😂😂

[@shinyta11]

Nobody ever told me there were two L pronunciations ;_; Until you mentioned them in a video. I was like, wait what?! Now I'll have to relearn all the words that have a dark L. xD Thank you! You are a very good teacher!

[@user-ho5iq1pt5n]

Rachel you're such a kind person !!!Thank you so much for giving us the oportunity to improve our prounounciation!!!

[@jellofel8138]

I’m from Shanghai, and we have the dark l sound in Shanghai dialect that stands for the oh sound in Mandarin, so my brain spontaneously treats both sounds as the same thing since I’m constantly switching back and forth. I have to force my brain to differentiate the dark l from the oh sound when I’m listening to English. I’m glad that you addressed this particular topic. I feel more comfortable to pronounce these two sounds now. Thank you!

[@yakiko567]

This video is amazing! I am Japanese, and we don't have the dark L sound. I'm always struggling to pronounce it, but finally I got something. Thank you very much!

[@rachelsenglish]

Awesome! Glad I could help!

[@runlearn]

So clear. I've seen some instructors tell students to say oh instead as a tip. This comparison was amazing and easy to understand. I'm a big fan of yours! Thanks a lot for great lessons!

[@lourdespalacios6669]

First time I hear about the existence of two L! You're a wonderful teacher. I appreciate your help. God bless you!!

[@nguyenquang1318]

Big thanks from Vietnam Rachel, I have been thought they were the same thing.

[@andreymendoza2122]

My three words with dark L: Retail, Bill and Hell. Thanks for your videos, it helps me so much to progress in my English learning.

[@cctang72]

Thanks so much. I am Chinese, I cannot realize I got this problem until I watch your video! That's helpful!

[@jorgeandrade20]

Hi Rachel, I find the dark 'L' to be one of the hardest sounds in American English, when I was training to reduce my accent, I felt the need to accentuate the 'L' sound by lifting the tip of my tongue to the alveolar ridge area of the mouth. Today, my dark 'L' is comprised of two movements: First, the back of the tongue pulls back, secondly, the tip of the tongue slightly lifts to mimic the regular 'L' sound, if I don't use that sequence, it makes me feel like I'm not pronouncing the word correctly, unless I'm speaking super fast, then there's no time to lift the tip of the tongue. What a pesky little sound!

[@octavioamaroflores8634]

That's exactly what happened to while studying bulgarian phonology!

[@petit4489]

This video is so fascinating to me. I’m a native American English speaker, but growing up I had speech therapy because I couldn’t pronounce a dark L

[@user-xz4gn5dt8r]

I like this kind of explanation for pronunciation of words. I also took many types of explanation by different coaches and/or instructors worldwide thru U-Tube videos. I appreciated my Japlish improvement getting closer to Native speakers.

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks for sharing!

[@BarbaraBrasileiro]

Thank you so much, Rachel. I always learn so much from your lessons!

[@rachelsenglish]

My pleasure Barbara!

[@mjuarez2099]

Hi Rachel, you made me realized something really important with this video, we truly substitute new sounds with known sounds from our native language. so my question is, can you make a video of the basics or common sounds in the English that we have to get familiar with. so that when we hear them we can actually repeat them??

[@user-gz8nf7oi7y]

It's quite helpful! Thank you! I need to add it to my practice list to practice every day!

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@deathkt1414]

I`m learning a lot from your book Rachel, thanks a lot , here are my 3 words: self, people, battle

[@jontron6846]

Another great video!!! Haha, Rachel's English is now my only source of english pronunciation input aside from American TV shows and movies and of course KZbin videos. I love American English and it's my goal to achieve perfect american-like pronunciation. I won't settle for less. With your help it seems attainable. Thanks, Rachel. :)

[@AndersonSilva-tg1dt]

Wow Rachel, fantastic. I think us, brazilians in general, really have a hard time to pronounce the dark L. Thank you so much! 3 words: call, fail, bail.

[@MondedeMon]

Thanks! I'm Vietnamese! I know how difficult to pronounce dark L!

[@ertnara]

As a brazilian i must say it helped a lot Rachel, thanks

[@user-op3zr8so1s]

thank you so much.I am Chinese.I really think these two sounds are completely same.But I will practice.

[@weirdam2574]

Bright explanation! All the words that end in -all, including the very "all".

I remember when you said that in a podcast for English Experts. It was great. You have no idea (you actually do haha) how many people in Brazil also make this substitution. This video couldn't be more helpful. :)

[@AlanaAylin19]

I finally got that sound ! So difficult! Thank you for the lesson.

[@lucyhuynh8994]

Thank you so much Rachel! I’m one of the Vietnamese that struggles with this Dark L, I even have no idea about it until watching your video 😭😭😭

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome Lucy!

[@carolineliu4227]

Thanks a lot. I cannot tell ou from dark L solely with listening. But with the help of lips, I get the difference now. Very nice teaching!

[@BobIshidaHere]

Rache! This is exactly what I needed to learn at this point of my progress. Thank you very much! Now I see my problem and can fix it with practice. People, ball, Rachel......People, ball, Rachel......People, ball, Rachel......People, ball, Rachel......

[@onelove4714]

A million thanks Rachel. You're the best

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@angvanhoanh4418]

I'm Vietnamese. Thank you very much. I Love Rachel' English Channel

[@rachelsenglish]

You're very welcome Đặng and thanks for watching there!

[@mestuff5712]

I like your videos very much. Your teaching is simple and easy to understand

[@rachelsenglish]

I'm glad to hear that! @mEStuff

[@nguyenphuongneu]

I'm vietnamese. I live in Ha Noi . I have a trouble with Dark L like you show it in this video. THank you so much for made it .

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@misterio4439]

Thanks for that! I finally learned how to pronounce the "dark L".

[@rachelsenglish]

Great!

[@starffgamer1258]

Hi, Rachel, I learned something new in this video awesome video you've made this one darl L ending OH I like a lot thanks.

[@rachelsenglish]

Glad it was helpful!

[@benchoi9474]

dark l and light l sound has the same starting place in IPA diagram. They begin at the alveolar or the high and front of your mouse and but dark l ends in the low and back of your mouse as described in the video :)

[@galladiel]

And here I was practicing "L" sound vocalization for London cockney accent. In cockney accent they do the opposite- replace dark L with "w" or "ou" sound. Vietnamese and Brasilians should have no problem with their "L" in London.

[@kathybui1918]

I think basically we have “ fe-u” Vietnamese would speak “ feuw”, English say “ feul” as FELL, so the difference is in between of the end of articulation lips “w” or tip of the tongue “l”.

[@abdulmomin1250]

Hi Rachel, I'm your very poor Fan. when I saw and hear your channel then I try as you. But I can't but trying to pronounce as you as a American.what a excellent pronunciation of yours. I'm trying from Bangladesh to be like you. Thanks a lot. God bless you.

[@SimpleEnglishVideos]

Terrific job!

[@kozcan]

Thank you so much Rachel.

[@hungtrinhquoc2091]

Thanks so lot Rachel! It is so useful.

[@rachelsenglish]

You're so welcome Hưng!

[@yuanxiangqi2519]

I have been trying to figure out the difference for more than 10years, thanks a lot

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@miaminmin]

WonderFUL lesson and I'm so thankFUL!

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks a lot!

[@tysonfitzgerald2235]

I'm a native English speaker but I still find your videos fascinating.

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks a lot Tyson!

[@soniacao3726]

explanation about the pronouncing part really helps!

[@rachelsenglish]

Great!

[@wangmaggie6758]

Rachel, you are the best!

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks Wang!

[@rafaelduarteaguilera9352]

This video reminds a situation a lived in the U.S. when I was told to look for a person called "Beo" (an African name pronounced like bɪoʊ) and it sounded like "Bill" (bɪl) to me. So I asked for Bill to everybody, but no one could find him. After a couple of minutes they realized that the name was actually Beo and not Bill, and I found him. Thanks for your videos, Rachel!

[@rachelsenglish]

+Rafael Duarte Aguilera Great story and example! Thank you for sharing!

[@automekanicsshops8827]

Special Thanks to both of You !

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@robersonsoliveira]

Another great video from Rachel channel. I feel so confortable when Im learning english from Rachel channel. I want to buy your book. But, for now our currency is so devalued and the dollar is each more growing.

[@wonderingwhy6410]

That was very useful. Thank you!

[@kaleege]

Rachel, for real, y'all helped a hell lot!

[@triminh4640]

Very helpful and practical. Thank you so much Rachel. Btw, it's great to see a Vietnamese on Rachel English Channel. Her name I sound Quyen :)

[@misschaima3300]

Thank u Mrs Rachel ; From Morocco

[@tomtom3874]

pull full wolf Those are the words that I struggle with. With the dark L sound, I am finally able to pronounce them right.

[@dattran1725]

Thanks Rachel and chi Quyen.

[@captainamerica6031]

I'm Vietnamese and dark L is really difficult not only for me but also many other Vietnamese. I'm grateful for your instruction.

[@nguyenngocminh2102]

Can you pronounce the dark L sound now?

[@captainamerica6031]

@@nguyenngocminh2102 Yes, I can.

[@marianapeixoto3991]

Fantastic video. Thank you so much!

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@alyaaahmed3266]

thanks a lot .excellent teacher

[@juniortoronto]

Well done! Thanks a lot!

[@lynneliu7068]

Super helpful! Thank you!

[@rachelsenglish]

My pleasure Lynne!

[@weisslin]

Thank you, Rachel.

[@rachelsenglish]

My pleasure @weisslin!

[@JayKobMusic]

Thanks Rach! Great video ^^ Here are my three Dark L words: whole, wall, possible

[@rachelsenglish]

+JayKob Yes - all of those words use the Dark L! Nice!

[@andersonteixeira4584]

Thank, Rachael.

[@hamidghorbani8465]

Thanks. I enjoyed

[@HoangTuan1412]

Awesome, thank you!

[@stevenvillamizar2121]

I'm from Colombia, and this sound is very difficult to do, however I'm practicing it, thank you.

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome @stevenvillamizar2121!

[@user-hh9ct2uy6j]

I learned that the ell sound is right back there at the end!

[@italoreyesdiaz3317]

best teacher ever

[@teodoropina8075]

Im watching the video. Tanks a lot

[@oscaroscar5315]

Rachel you are great ,thank you very much for helping learning American English,,,,I want to say that dark L is unfamiliar to arabs too and difficult, I find it more difficult in words such as: help / Google/ exactly / people/ general / article .

[@Jason-bx2rj]

Best explanation ever seen

[@thanhhungphan3985]

Dark L with OH is not that corect but is a great substitution. As I Know people in South Vietnam do the same for Foreign words with L ending. Thank you Rachel!!

[@killua99go28]

really helpful. Thanks!

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks Jessica!

[@Gene0723]

Great tip.

[@dabnysenglish110]

I Love your vídeos! !!Thank for help my english. Iam from Brazil. L (él)

[@rachelsenglish]

Hello there and thanks for watching! :)

[@M5790M]

Great!

[@tientv275]

Thanks for your explanation Rachel. The dark L sound is the last sound I learned how to pronounce properly in english, it took me much more time than the other sounds. The problem I have now is when the dark L sound is between a vowel/diphthong and a consonant, like in "always", "shoulder", "soldier", "help" and "milk". In those words I tend to drop the L sound or turn it into the w/oh sound. Can you help me please?

[@becky3422]

Great! Enjoyed

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks Becky!

[@laurauriostegui171]

THANK YOU

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome

[@isabellac.8155]

Thank you!

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome Isabella!

[@drogadepc]

I'm brazilian and that's true story about the Dark L and OH. Nice vídeo

[@eds2gecilaine]

5:00 ii meu!! esse troço é complicado!!! kkkj

[@juniorsilvasilva6897]

Pronúncia complicada. Rss

[@Bob-tu9jq]

Thank you, Racho. Opps, thanks Rachellllllll.

[@kekkoutsutayaiku]

This is a great lesson for Japanese speakers as well. We do the same substitution such as My-koh instead of Michael.

[@metaliphuong]

A big thank from Viet Nam

[@user-co7mi7zh7z]

It's still hard for me to tell the differences between dark L l̴ and back close unrounded vowel ɯ. I don't know how to correctly move my tongue. Anyway many thanks for the great video.

[@icyzoneinfo]

Same thing occurs in Bulgarian. Younger people (born after 1990 or so) say a "w" sound instead of a dark l, because the dark l recently disappeared from the language, but nobody is aware of that, even those who speak with a dark l don't notice it when someone substitutes w for l

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks for sharing Yordan!

[@georgydobrev3542]

But the Bulgarian dark L is pronounced by moving the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth. It sounds dark only because you make it really thin and spiky. So it’s quite different than the American dark L, and this makes it even more difficult for Bulgarians to pronounce it the right way.

[@phongpt76]

Tks a lot. I am a vietnamese

[@user-mm6nj8pz1h]

Thanks a lot

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@ramzy-6566]

awesome video for dark l

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks Ramzy!

[@orumcek1]

you're flawless 👍

[@USA_365]

Best of the best! 2 thumbs up.

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks a lot!

[@halgaci]

My mother language is Mandarin. There is no OH sound in Mandarin. OU in Mandarin is the same as the Dark L in English. I did take some time to practice the OH sound but I found what I made sounded more like U or W rather than OH. Finally, I gave up and have to substitute OH with the Dark L when I speak English.

[@LeandroMachadoAmorim]

thanks

[@phannkhuong]

I'm Vietnamese and I always say EMAI-OH until I see this video, thank you! :)

[@rachelsenglish]

Hello there and thanks for watching!

[@marukchozt6744]

i found that roll up the tongue makes the L sound more clear,, (correct me if im wrong) about finding the familiar sounds, it brought me such a hard time changing my accent (still bothers me..), cuz even the sounds are possibly the same, it's still not actually the way that native speaker speaks that;; and when u try to fill in a sentence within that word, for tongue that it isn't easy to be continued moving the way that it feels comfortable. It's quite similar to the situation that u r counting down and randomly using both Roman numerals and Arabic numerals, they mean the same, but look different.

[@hadrielia]

Hi, Rachel. Can you make a video showing how to pronunce sentences using words ending in the Dark L followed by words starting in a vowel, like "I need to sell it" Thank you

[@lucast7068]

+Ana Luisa You just need to move the L to the next word. Instead of _"Sell it[Dark L]"_ you pronounce it as _"Se- Lit[Regular L]"_

[@lucast7068]

+Lucas T Words that connect. Rachel has several videos about this topic on her channel. Actually, her most seen video talks exactly about that

[@rachelsenglish]

+Ana Luisa Lucas T is right about linking the Dark L to the following word - however, don't change it to a Light L, it should stay a Dark L. This is a great suggestion for a specific linking video - I appreciate the comment!

[@evermorevictorious2742]

@@rachelsenglish It should be changed into a light L!

[@LuanDih]

great

[@xuangelina5032]

Dear Rachel I find so confused between the difference of BE and AE with the word containing dark l like "old" "told" "cold" the way American people pronounce is hard to mimic. I would be very grateful if you can help me with it. Thank you very much, btw I love your method of teaching pronunciation, I major in English at my university but I would say my time I spent on Rachel English improving my pronunciation is much than I spent on my college's time. Now I can see a clear improvement, without your helpful lessons I would be in the middle of nowhere. Keep going, you will always have my back. An admirer from Vietnam, with love :D :D :D

[@Tenchis75]

great video. !! :)

[@Cirosan]

You're the best Rachel!! so also in LET'S GO the first L is dark?

[@ronaldoferreiraoliveira]

Very good

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks Ronaldo!