International Journal of Linguistics & Communication

Is Bulgarian Language Losing Its Alveodental Consonant [l]?
Gergana Padareva-Ilieva1 and Sofiya Mitsova

Abstract
This paper considers an increasingly dominating articulation of the alveodental consonant [l] as [ŭ] in Bulgarian. This problem is rarely discussed in Bulgarian linguistic literature. Until this moment there are not any experimental researches proving the statement of the expansiveness of this articulation. The aim of this preliminary study is to find out if the real number of people pronouncing [l] as [ŭ] is as big as we assume and to define the word position in which this articulation usually occurs. The results of the experiment prove our assumption and a deeper analysis shows that the process which has started in Bulgarian will probably deepen, following the tendency in other Slavic languages, as Polish, Byelorussian, Slovenian etc. where this articulation is standardized.

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