Consonants L

As in other parts of the U.S., /l/ may be vocalized or deleted altogether in a number of phonological contexts. Realizations such as [hεp] ~ [hεwp] ~ [hεop] for help or [pɪw] ~ [pɪo] for pill are more common in the traditional Midland areas. For example, the Linguistic Atlas of the Upper Midwest records them in the speech of several Iowans but only a single Minnesotan. They are also reported to be characteristic of Pittsburgh speech.