Re: YAEPT: Characterising English /l/s (was: Re: Alborgian/ Borgi)

Eric Christopherson wrote:
> I have never really been able to perceive the
> difference in my own speech or in that of most
> other Americans. However, there are some
> people who have a very "dark"-sounding /l/,
> which actually sounds like me more like a velar
> approximant; whether it's lateral or central I'm
> not sure. Tom Brokaw is the best example I
> can think of, and I think fellow newsman
> Robert Bezell too maybe.
In school, I had some classmates whose surname
was "Girbach."  They pronounced it as if it were
spelled "Girball." I don't know how common this
is.

--Ph. D.