Pronunciation of [l]

[james_clearwater]

I often hear people pronunciating the l very darkly at the end of some words.
I hope everybody knows what a "dark l" and what a "light l" is.
Normally every L is a light l.
But in words like "kell" or the suffix "el" it is a dark one.
I would say it is nearly a british semivowel "w" (the way the brits say milk = miok).
Hope you know what I mean.

And sometimes the L isn´t pronounced at all.
In words like "átölel" for example.
Native spaeker pronounce it: "átö´el"

Do am I mishearing all the tiome something or is this true???

[Kenny]

I can't speak for everyone but I have yet to meet a fellow Hungarian who does either of those things.

[Lauren]

I've heard this too. In the recording on this page, some of the words sound like they have a 'w' instead of an 'l', like "sehol" and "hold".

[james_clearwater]

Well when I was in Budapest the expression "most már mennem kell" was very common.

The "L" sound in kell sounded like the "L" in well.
curious thing....

[Ynas Midgard]

Hello! First post on the forum

The L of "hold" barely noticeably differs from Ls in other positions; in fact there is generally no difference at all. I can imagine that in fast, colloquial speech the L might be pronounced more in the back than usual (due to the previous O-sound), but it will certainly not become velar, like in English.

In the other word, "kell", the L actually shares every characteristic feature of the L in "kel", except length. That is, both are clear-Ls.

As for the linked audio file, it sounds unlike the way I speak (I'm from Szolnok, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok megye, though my pronunciation is virtually no different to the standard).

[Levike]

Here in Transylvania many Hungarians don't pronounce the "l" at the end of the words.