Dear D.P.,

While I cannot do speech therapy over the internet, here are some general principles for you to understand.

As you know, the /l/ and the /n/ sounds are both produced with the tongue lifted to the ridge at the roof of the mouth, and the voice on. The difference between them is that the front of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth along a wide path for the /n/, and only at a narrow spot for the /l/.

I would encourage you to ask a physician’s office for the names of qualified, local speech/language pathologists. I do not know why you have not had the results you have hoped for up until now. I do not know why you should not be able to learn the pronunciation you desire. These are questions that need to be answered by a speech pathologist who works with you.

A speech pathologist might find out things like the following: Are you able to hear the difference between the sounds clearly? That is a first step.

Are you able to produce an isolated /l/? That might be a starting point.

Is there any word that begins with /l/ or contains an /l/ that you are able to pronounce well? Sometimes the sounds that surround that /l/ help you to make it, and that context might be a starting point, too.

Best Wishes,
Ruth Alice Jurey, M.S., C.C.C.
Speech/Language Pathologist