Sound ł - dark L in proto-slavic

 

1. What ł Represents

• In modern Polish, ł is pronounced as a /w/ sound, similar to English w in “water”.
• Historically, ł came from the Proto-Slavic hard l (velarized l, /ɫ/), often called dark l.
• This sound shift is specific to Polish (and a few other regional dialects), while other Slavic languages kept an l-like sound.

What is a hard / velarized /ɫ/?

• Velarized l is an “L” sound pronounced with the back of the tongue raised toward the soft palate (velum) while making the normal “l” sound with the tongue tip.
• It sounds darker, heavier, rounder than the “clear l” you hear in, say, Italian or Spanish.
• In the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) it’s written as /ɫ/.
• In English, most people pronounce this sound in words like full, milk, or ball — especially at the end of a syllable.

2. Proto-Slavic and Polish

• In Proto-Slavic, many l sounds were “hard” /ɫ/ in certain positions (especially before consonants or at the end of words).
• Over time in Polish, this hard /ɫ/ shifted to the sound /w/ (like English “w”).
• The spelling ł was used to distinguish it from the clear l.
• Example:
  
• Proto-Slavic: vъlkъ /vɯɫkɯ/ — wolf
• Polish today: wilk /vʲiwk/ (ł sound = /w/)
• Russian: волк /voɫk/ (keeps the dark l)
• Interslavic: vȯlk (keeps l for neutrality)
• 
  

3. Examples of the shift 

l → ł (/w/)

2. Proto-Slavic to Interslavic

• In Interslavic, ł is retained in writing to show its historical presence, but it is usually pronounced as a plain l /l/ for mutual understanding among Slavs.
• Example:
  
• Proto-Slavic: sъlnьce (sun)
• Interslavic: sȯlnce (or sȯlnečny = sunny)
• Polish: słońce (ł here = /w/)
• Russian: солнце (l = /l/)
• Slovenian: sonce (no l at all — it was dropped).
• 
  

English         | Proto-Slavic   | Interslavic | Polish     | Russian   | Slovenian

----------------|----------------|-------------|------------|-----------|----------

wolf            | *vъɫkъ         | vȯlk        | wilk       | волк      | volk

long            | *doɫgъ         | dolg        | długi      | долг      | dolg

gold, golden    | *zɫatъ         | zlat        | złoty      | золотой   | zlat

whole           | *cěɫъ          | cěl         | cały       | целый     | cel

small           | *maɫъ          | mal         | mały       | малый     | mal

full            | *pɫъnъ         | plȯny       | pełny      | полный    | poln

palm (hand)     | *dɫani         | dlani       | dłoń       | ладонь    | dlan

pillar/post     | *stoɫpъ        | stolp       | słup       | столб     | steber

catch, take     | *ɫoviti        | loviti      | łowić      | ловить    | loviti

ship            | *ɫodi          | lod         | łódź       | лодка     | ladja

meadow          | *ɫuka          | luka        | łąka       | луг       | luka