Piotr wrote:
Now let's begin with English.
English /l/ is "dark" when it's final
or followed by a consonant (the technical term is "velarised"): the
back of the tongue is raised towards the soft palate and the timbre of the
consonant resembles a back vowel (/o/ or /u/). In some accents of English the
tip of the tongue, instead of being pressed against the alveolar ridge (the
upper gum), is lowered, and preconsonantal darl /l/ is realised as a back vowel
or semivowel. In such cases we say that /l/ undergoes
"vocalisation".
Before a vowel /l/ is "clear" (with the
body of the tongue assuming a "neutral" position) in standard British
English. In American English, however, /l/ usually has a darkish quality even in
this position, and in Scottish English it is positively dark (in Irish English,
for a change, /l/ is clear in all positions). All dialects agree in having
clear, slightly palatalised /l/ before /j/ as in
million.
The normal place of articulation in English is
alveolar (the tongue-tip touches the upper gum just behind the front teeth).
However, dark /l/ is assimilated to the following th iw words
like filth or health, becoming a dental sound
(the tongue tip touches the teeth).
Andrew here now:
Interestingly, there is a subtle vowel shift in
what is sometimes called the "Essex accent" or "Estuarine"
spoken north of the Thames estuary. This vowel shift pronounces the final L like
an English W. Examples: "carefuw" for "careful". This may
parallel the development of Polish glide l from Proto-Slavic. Unlike in Polish,
other final letters, especially t, are also
comonnly dropped in Essex English.
It has to be said that the Essex accent is
regarded by many educated English as uncouth and sloppy. Essex men and Essex
girls are the objects of numerous jokes. This contrasts to other regional
English accents (eg Yorkshire, Scottish, West country), which are treated with
respect as a legitimate way to speak English. I was brought up in Essex, and my
parents actively "corrected" my Essex
accent.