Silent “L” Patterns If an “L” is found towards the end of the word, before the letters “f,” “v”, “k” and “m,” but after the letter “a,” then it's usually silent (behalf, calve, walk, almond).
Today the latest versions of the OED (most recently updated in December 2022), plus current standard American and British dictionaries, give dual pronunciations of “almond,” both with and without the “l” sound. The OED says both versions are used in both British and American English.
Is it "Almond" or "Amond"? The researchers behind the study say both pronunciations are technically correct and both are listed in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Both al-mond and am-end are correct pronunciations of the nut. It even says that ahl-mend is an acceptable pronunciation.
And to this day I have pronounced 'Nutella' like most other Aussies – when I'm reading my shopping list, in my head it's NA-TELL-AH. But it seems I've been wrong all along. According to the Nutella website, the delicious hazelnut and cocoa spread is pronounced NEW-TELL-UH. Yep that's right – “New-tell-uh”.
If an “L” is found towards the end of the word, before the letters “f,” “v”, “k” and “m,” but after the letter “a,” then it's usually silent (behalf, calve, walk, almond). In many of these instances, the silent L lengthens the previous vowel sound, which gives the slight impression of the “L” /l/ sound.
“The farmers whose families have been around for at least 30 to 40 years usually say 'amond. '” When asked about the geographic boundaries of farmers who say “amond” as opposed to “almond,” he said that it was harder to pinpoint than you might think.
As a general rule, farmers in the northern part of the state say “am-end” and farmers in southern areas say “almond.” In a quest for an explanation, Romero spoke to numerous farmers and ag industry professionals who all told a version of the same joke.
Silent L words
The letter L is silent in the words including should, could, would, half, calf, chalk, talk, walk, folk, and yolk.
Many students try to pronounce these Ls, but in all these words, the L is completely silent. In walk, chalk, and talk, the L comes after an A, and the vowel is pronounced like a short O.
Avo: this is what we call an avocado. This is a good one to know, because smashed avo (mashed avocado on toast) is very popular in Australian cafes. Barbie: this is short for barbecue.
The letter"L" is silent in salmon.
Both the OED and M-W list the silent “l” as the first pronunciation and the “l” pronunciation as a variant for the following words: alms, palm, psalm, and qualm. OED gives only the silent “l” pronunciation for salmon, balm, and calm.
Why don't the Japanese pronounce the "L"? Because they don't have an L sound in their language. They have a similar sound, a tapped R, [ɾ], which is kinda halfway between an English R and L. Same tapped R as in spanish.
There's no single correct way to pronounce caramel. The three most popular pronunciations of caramel are: “KARR-mul,” “KARR-uh-mel,” and “KARR-uh-mul.” Generally, British speakers prefer the pronunciation “KARR-uh-mel,” while different regions in America favor all three pronunciations.
The pronunciation has always been L free, but the French term originates from the Latin “Solidare”, and many centuries ago, English re-latinized a lot of vocab and gave the term an “L” again, but it was always silent.