5.3: The Letter L
- Page ID
- 268163
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)In this section, you will learn how to pronounce the l in -il and -ill.
Let's study!
L = [l]
A single letter l is almost always pronounced [l]:
labo, filet, bal
However, you will need to consider the CRFL rule to determine when the letter l goes silent at the end of a word. In words with more than one syllable and ending with l, the l will be silent: fusil, gentil, outil. A few one-syllable words ending in l will also have a silent l; for example, the l in fils is silent (pronounced [fis]). Other examples include: soûl, cul
The letters l followed by a vowel is pronounced [l], like in
le, facile, and kilo.
IL = [il]
The letters il are pronounced [il] when they are (a) at the end of a one-syllable word or (b) followed by a vowel. For example:
fil, facile, silence
LL
You can pronounce the double consonant ll in two ways:
[ l ] :(L sound): laugh, bill, Californie
[ j ] :(Y sound): you, tanya, coyote
ILL = [il]
After a vowel, double ll is pronounced [l] (like l in less or ball)
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
| salle | room |
| belle | beautiful |
| syllabe | syllable |
| voyelle | vowel |
| ballon | ball |
ill = /ij/ or /j/
The grapheme ill is pronounced with a [ij] or [j] depending on the context:
When preceded by a consonant, ill is pronounced [ij]:
famille, habiller, brillant
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
| la famille | family |
| la Bastille | Bastille |
| la cédille | cedilla (ç) |
| la chantilly | whipped cream |
| la fille | girl |
| la vanille | vanilla |
Exceptions to this rule are limited to mille, ville et tranquille which are pronounced with [il], as are their derivatives (million, village, tranquillement, etc.). The same rule applies to proper nouns (i.e., names of people and places): Gilles et Lille. This is the complete list (anything not listed here is pronounced [j]:
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
| un billion | trillion |
| distiller | to distill |
| tranquille | calm, tranquil |
| une ville (une villa, un village, etc.) | town |
| Achille | Achilles |
| -illaire | -ilary (suffix) |
| Lille | Lille (town in Nord) |
| Gilles | Gilles (person's name) |
| mille (un millénium, millier, etc.) | thousand |
| milli- (millimètre, milligramme, etc) | milli- (prefix) |
| un milliard (un milliardaire, le milliardième, etc.) | billion |
| un million (un millionaire, le millionième, etc.) | million |
When preceded by a vowel, ill is pronounced [j]:
taille, travailler, feuille, bouteille, grenouille
| Voyelles + ll | Français | Anglais |
|---|---|---|
| aill | la paille | straw |
| eill | la veille | night before |
| euill | la feuille | leaf |
| ouill | Bouillir | to boil |
| ueill | Cueillir | to gather |
| uill | la cuillère | spoon |
Let's practice!
Activity
Listen and repeat
A.
1. le / fille / bile / mille / pastille / vanille / gorille
2. facile / famille / utile / docile / billet / filet / fillette / maquiller
B.
1. fille / feuille / bille / aille / paille / famille
2. ville / Bastille / bouteille / oreille / tranquille / brillante / nouilles
3. grenouille / habiller / bouillon / travailler / réveiller
"The Letter L" by William Carrasco & Shahrzad Zahedi is licensed under CC BY 4.0 / The activity on this page is a derivative from Sons et lettres by Stephen Walton