Good news: you already make both of Malayalam's L sounds. English just never asked you to choose between them. Say light, then bell, and feel your tongue move. Malayalam turns those two automatic English sounds into two separate letters — ല, tongue forward, and ള, tongue curled back — and the difference changes the word. Practise the minimal pairs until a millimetre of tongue becomes a habit. Words in this class: ലോകം (lokam) – the world പാൽ (paal) – milk കല (kala) – art വല (vala) – a net (fishing net) ബാലൻ (baalan) – a boy വള (vaLa) – a bangle കളി (kaLi) – play, a game വള്ളം (vaLLam) – a boat കള്ളൻ (kaLLan) – a thief കള (kaLa) – a weed In this class: • Feel the light L and the dark L you already make in English • ല — tongue forward, even at the end of a word • ള — tongue curled back, the retroflex family of റ and ഴ • Minimal pairs: വല / വള and കല / കള, plus tips for Russian, Polish, Portuguese and Arabic speakers Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.