n (linguistics) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-vocalization |
The change in pronunciation of historically or variably consonant (typically sonorant) sounds as vowels. For example, the syllabic /l/ in words like
people or the coda one in words like
cold or
coal are variably realized as a high back vowel or glide— [ʊ], [u], [ɤ] or [o]—in many English dialects in the US, UK, and the Southern Hemisphere. For example, in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English| African American English the most common pronunciation of the words "people", "cold", and "coal" is [pʰipʊ], [kʰoɤd], or [kʰoɤ] respectively.