Norwegian learners problems. Listen: In British English this speech sound has two main variants, called "clear l" and "dark l". This difference comes out very clearly in the word little , where the first /l/ is clear and the second /l/ is dark (the back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate). The most important thing is not to use the "clear l" when you are expected to use the dark variant. The "clear l" is used before vowel sounds and /j/, and the "dark l" is used before the other consonants and at the end of words.

Listen and practise:

little, lean, law, Nelson, bulk, Hull, sell, milk

Variants: In the broad London accent (Cockney), the "dark l" is so dark that it becomes a vowel, so milk becomes and St. Paul's becomes .
In American English there is only one main variant, and a form of "dark l" is used throughout.

SPELLING BOX always spelt <l(l)>, but sometimes the <l> is silent, as in walk and salmon