View source for Ł

{{DEFAULTSORT:L With Stroke}}
[[Category:Phonetic transcription symbols|L stroke]]
[[Category:Belarusian language]]
[[Category:Latin letters with diacritics|L stroke]]
[[Category:Navajo language]]
[[Category:Polish letters with diacritics]]
{{Short description|Letter of the Latin alphabet}}
{{about|the orthographic character Ł|the pound sign|£|the cryptocurrency|Litecoin}} {{Distinguish|text=the IPA symbol [[ɫ]], with [[Ɨ|Ɨ (barred i)]], or with [[L with bar|Ƚ and ƚ (l with bar)]]}} {{infobox grapheme|letter=Ł ł|name=L with stroke|image=Latin letter L with stroke.svg|imageclass=skin-invert-image|script=[[Latin alphabet|Latin]]|language=[[Polish language|Polish]]|phonemes={{grid list|[{{IPAlink|w}}]|[{{IPAlink|ɫ}}]|[{{IPAlink|ɬ}}]}}|unicode=U+0141, U+0142|equivalents=[[w]]|direction=Left to right|fam1=<hiero>U20</hiero>|fam2=<hiero>S39</hiero>|fam3=[[File:Proto-semiticL-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px]]|fam4=[[File:Protolamed.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px]]|fam5=[[File:PhoenicianL-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px]]|fam6=[[File:Phoenician_lamedh.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px]]|fam7=[[Lambda|Λ λ]]|fam8=[[𐌋]]|fam9=[[L|L l]]|type=alphabet|typedesc=ic}}

'''Ł''' or '''ł''',  described in [[English language|English]] as '''L with stroke''', is a letter of the [[Polish alphabet|Polish]], [[Kashubian alphabet|Kashubian]], [[Kurdish alphabets|Kurdish]], [[Sorbian alphabet|Sorbian]], [[Belarusian Latin alphabet|Belarusian Latin]], [[Ukrainian Latin alphabet|Ukrainian Latin]], [[Wymysorys language#Alphabet|Wymysorys]], [[Navajo language|Navajo]], [[Dene Suline language|Dëne Sųłıné]], [[Inupiaq language|Inupiaq]], [[Zuni language|Zuni]], [[Hupa language|Hupa]], [[Coast Tsimshian language|Sm'álgyax]], [[Nisga'a language|Nisga'a]], and [[Dogrib language|Dogrib]] [[Alphabet|alphabets]], several proposed [[Alphabet|alphabets]] for the [[Venetian language]], and the [[ISO 11940]] romanization of the [[Thai script]]. In some Slavic languages, it represents the continuation of the [[Proto-Slavic]] non-[[Palatal consonant|palatal]] {{angbr|L}} ([[dark L]]), except in [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]], and [[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]], where it evolved further into {{IPA|/w/}}. In most non-European languages, it represents a [[Voiceless dental and alveolar lateral fricatives|voiceless alveolar lateral fricative]] or similar sound.

==Glyph shape Ł==
[[File:Łł-handwriting.jpg|thumb|Handwritten uppercase and lowercase Ł]]
In normal typefaces, the letter has a stroke approximately in the middle of the vertical stem, crossing it at an angle between 70° and 45°, never horizontally. In [[cursive]] handwriting and typefaces that imitate it, the capital letter has a horizontal stroke through the middle and looks very similar to the [[pound sign]] {{char|£}}. In the cursive lowercase letter, the stroke is also horizontal and placed on top of the letter instead of going through the middle of the stem, which would not be distinguishable from the letter t. The stroke is either straight or slightly wavy, depending on the style. Unlike {{angbr|l}}, the letter {{angbr|ł}} is usually written without a noticeable loop at the top. Most publicly available multilingual cursive typefaces, including commercial ones, feature an incorrect glyph for {{angbr|ł}}.<ref name="Adam Twardoch2">{{cite web |author=Adam Twardoch |author-link=Adam Twardoch |date=2009-03-09 |title=Kreska ukośna |url=http://www.twardoch.com/download/polishhowto/stroke.html |accessdate=2015-10-01 |work=Polish Diacritics: how to?}}</ref>

A rare variant of the ł glyph is a cursive double-ł ligature, used in words such as ''{{lang|pl|[[Władysław II Jagiełło|Jagiełło]]}}'', ''{{lang|pl|[[Radziwiłł family|Radziwiłł]]}}'' or ''{{lang|pl|Ałłach}}'' (archaic: Allah), where the strokes at the top of the letters are joined into a single stroke.<ref name="Adam Twardoch2" />

==Polish Ł==
In Polish, {{angbr|Ł}} is used to distinguish the historical dark ([[Velarization|velarized]]) L [ɫ] from [[clear L]] [l]. The Polish {{angbr|Ł}} now sounds the same as the English {{angbr|W}}, [w] as in ''water'' (except for older speakers in some eastern Polish dialects where it still sounds velarized).

In 1440, {{Interlanguage link|Jakub Parkoszowic|pl}} proposed a letter resembling <math>\ \ell</math> to represent clear L. For dark L he suggested "l" with a stroke running in the opposite direction to the modern version.{{Citation needed|reason=Please specify the exact location of such a letter in the facsimile in Kucała's edition.|date=September 2017}} The latter was introduced in 1514–1515 by Stanisław Zaborowski in his {{lang|la|Orthographia seu modus recte scribendi et legendi Polonicum idioma quam utilissimus}}. L with stroke originally represented a [[velarized alveolar lateral approximant]] {{IPA|[ɫ]}},<ref>{{cite book |last1=Teslar |first1=Joseph Andrew |title=A New Polish Grammar |last2=Teslar |first2=Jadwiga |publisher=Oliver & Boyd |year=1962 |edition=8th Edition, Revised |location=Edinburgh |pages=4–5 |quote="ł = English l hard, dental ; ... It is true, of course, that the majority of Poles nowadays pronounce this sound with the lips, like the English '''w'''. But this is a careless pronunciation leading eventually to the disappearance of a sound typically Polish (and Russian also ; it has already disappeared from the other Slavonic languages, Czech and Serbian) ... In articulating '''l''', your tongue ... projects considerably beyond the horizontal line separating the gums from the teeth and touches the gums or the palate. To pronounce '''ł''' ... the tongue should be held flat and rigid in the bottom of the mouth with the tip just bent upwards sufficiently to touch the edge of the front upper teeth. (On no account should the tongue extend beyond the line separating the teeth from the gums.) Holding the tongue rigidly in this position, a speaker should then pronounce one of the vowels '''a''', '''o''' or '''u''', consciously dropping the tongue on each occasion, to obtain the hard '''ł''' quite distinct from the soft '''l'''."}}</ref> a pronunciation that is preserved in the eastern part of Poland<ref>{{cite book |last1=Swan |first1=Oscar E. |title=First Year Polish |publisher=Slavica Publishers |year=1983 |edition=2nd Edition, Revised and Expanded |location=Columbus |page=xix |quote="ł (so-called  barrel l) is not pronounced like an <u>l</u> except in Eastern dialects and, increasingly infrequently, in stage pronunciation. It is most often pronounced like English <u>w</u> in <u>way</u>, <u>how</u>. "<u>ł</u>eb, da<u>ł</u>a, by<u>ł</u>, pi<u>ł</u>ka."}}</ref> and among the Polish minority in [[Lithuania]], [[Belarus]], and [[Ukraine]]. This pronunciation is similar to [[Russian language|Russian]] unpalatalised {{angbr|[[El (Cyrillic)|Л]]}} in native words and grammar forms.

In modern Polish, Ł is usually pronounced {{IPA|/w/}} (as [w] in English ''wet'').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mazur |first1=B. W. |title=Colloquial Polish |publisher=Routledge |year=1983 |location=London |page=5 |quote="The sounds below exist in English but are pronounced or rendered differently: '''c''' ... '''h'''[, ] '''ch''' ... '''j''' ... '''ł''' as '''w''' in '''w'''et[, ] łach ład słowo[; ] '''r''' ... '''w'''"}}</ref> This pronunciation first appeared among Polish lower classes in the 16th century. It was considered an uncultured accent by the upper classes (who pronounced {{angbr|Ł}} as {{IPA|/ɫ/}}) until the mid-20th century, when this distinction gradually began to fade.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

The shift from {{IPA|[ɫ]}} to {{IPA|[w]}} in Polish has affected all instances of dark L, even word-initially or intervocalically, e.g. ''ładny'' ("pretty, nice") is pronounced {{IPA|[ˈwadnɨ]}}, ''słowo'' ("word") is {{IPA|[ˈswɔvɔ]}}, and ''ciało'' ("body") is {{IPA|[ˈtɕawɔ]}}. Ł often alternates with clear L, such as the [[Grammatical number|plural forms]] of [[Adjective|adjectives]] and verbs in the past tense that are associated with masculine personal nouns, e.g. ''mały'' → ''mali'' ({{IPA|[ˈmawɨ]}} → {{IPA|[ˈmali]}}). Alternation is also common in [[declension]] of nouns, e.g. from [[Nominative case|nominative]] to [[Locative case|locative]], ''tło'' → ''na tle'' ({{IPA|[twɔ]}} → {{IPA|[naˈtlɛ]}}).

Polish final Ł also often corresponds to [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] word-final {{angbr|В}} [[Ve (Cyrillic)]] and [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] {{angbr|Ў}} [[Short U (Cyrillic)]]. Thus, "he gave" is "dał" in Polish, "дав" in Ukrainian, "даў" in Belarusian (all pronounced {{IPA|[daw]}}), but "дал" {{IPA|[daɫ]}} in Russian.

===Examples===
Notable figures

* [[Marie Curie|Marie Sk'''ł'''odowska Curie]], a scientist awarded the Nobel prize in both physics and chemistry, who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity.
* [[Pope John Paul II|Karol Józef Wojty'''ł'''a]] ({{IPA|pl|ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛv vɔjˈtɨwa|IPA}}), John Paul II, [[Pope]] of the [[Catholic Church]] from 1978 to 2005
* Kazimierz Pu'''ł'''aski ({{IPA|pl|kaˈʑimjɛʂ puˈwaskʲi|IPA|Pl-Kazimierz Pułaski.ogg}}), known in English as [[Casimir Pulaski]], a [[Polish people|Polish]] soldier and commander, a brigadier general in the [[Continental Army]] cavalry during [[American Revolutionary War]]
* [[Ignacy Łukasiewicz|Ignacy '''Ł'''ukasiewicz]] ({{IPA|pl|iɡˈnat͡sɨ wukaˈɕɛvit͡ʂ|IPA}}), the inventor of the modern [[paraffin lamp]]
* [[Jan Łukasiewicz|Jan '''Ł'''ukasiewicz]] ({{IPA|pl|ˈjan wukaˈɕɛvit͡ʂ|IPA}}), the inventor of [[Polish notation]]
* [[Lech Wałęsa|Lech Wa'''ł'''ęsa]] ({{IPA|pl|ˈlɛɣ vaˈwɛ̃sa|IPA}}), Polish labor leader and [[President of Poland|former president]]
* [[Stanisław Lem|Stanis'''ł'''aw Lem]] ({{IPA|pl|staˈɲiswaf ˈlɛm|IPA}}), Polish writer of [[science fiction]], [[philosophy]], and [[satire]], and a trained [[physician]]
* [[Wisława Szymborska|Wis'''ł'''awa Szymborska]] ({{IPA|pl|viˈswava ʂɨmˈbɔrska|IPA}}), a Polish [[poet]] and recipient of the 1996 [[Nobel Prize in Literature]]
* [[Witold Lutosławski|Witold Lutos'''ł'''awski]], Polish composer
* [[Wacław Sierpiński|Wac'''ł'''aw Sierpiński]] ({{IPA|pl|ˈvat͡swaf ɕɛrˈpʲij̃skʲi|IPA|Pl-Wacław Sierpiński.ogg|}}), Polish mathematician

Some examples of words with 'ł':

* [[Władysław (disambiguation)|W'''ł'''adys'''ł'''aw]]<!--intentional link to DAB page-->
* [[Vistula|Wis'''ł'''a]] (Vistula)
* [[Łódź|'''Ł'''ódź]]
* [[Łukasz|'''Ł'''ukasz]] (Lucas / Luke)
* [[Michał|Micha'''ł''']] (Michael)
* [[Polish zloty|Z'''ł'''oty]] (zloty / golden)

In contexts where Ł is not readily available as a glyph, basic L is used instead. Thus, the surname Małecki would be spelled Malecki in a foreign country.

In the 1980s, when some computers available in Poland lacked Polish diacritics, it was common practice to use a pound sterling sign (£) for Ł. This practice ceased as soon as DOS-based and Mac computers came with a [[code page]] for such characters.

==Other languages==
In Belarusian [[Łacinka]] (both in the 1929<ref>{{cite book |last=Тарашкевіч |first=Б. |title=Беларуская граматыка для школ. – Вільня |publisher=Беларуская друкарня ім. Фр. Скарыны, 1929 ; Мн. : «Народная асвета» |year=1991 |edition=Выданьне пятае пераробленае і пашыранае}}</ref> and 1962<ref>{{cite book |last=Станкевіч |first=Ян |title=Які мае быць парадак літараў беларускае абэцады |year=1962}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Станкевіч |first=Ян |title=Збор твораў у двух тамах |publisher=Энцыклапедыкс |year=2002 |isbn=985-6599-46-6 |volume=2}}</ref> versions), {{angbr|Ł}} corresponds to Cyrillic {{angbr|Л}} ([[El (Cyrillic)|El]]), and is normally pronounced {{IPA|/ɫ/}} (almost exactly as in English ''pull'').

In [[Navajo language|Navajo]] and [[Mikasuki language|Elaponke]], {{angbr|Ł}} is used for a [[voiceless alveolar lateral fricative]] {{IPA|/ɬ/}}, like the [[Ll#Welsh|Welsh double L]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=George L. |title=Concise Compendium of the World's Languages |publisher=Routledge |year=1995 |location=London |page=354}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=McKnight |first=Roberta |date=January 2001 |title=The Creek Way |url=http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/sstans/10573/dictionary.html |access-date=21 May 2022 |website=ANT 3640 Language & Culture |publisher=Florida Gulf Coast University}}</ref>

{{angbr|Ł}} is used in orthographic transcription of [[Ahtna language|Ahtna]], an [[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan language]] spoken in Alaska; it represents a [[Breathy voice|breathy]] lateral fricative.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ahtna Pronunciation Guide |url=http://www.native-languages.org/ahtna_guide.htm |accessdate=2008-10-05 |publisher=Native Languages of the Americas}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Tuttle |first=Siri G. |title=Syllabic obstruents in Ahtna Athabaskan |url=http://email.eva.mpg.de/rara2006/abstracts_webpage/TUTTLE.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623073728/http://email.eva.mpg.de/rara2006/abstracts_webpage/TUTTLE.pdf |archivedate=June 23, 2007 |accessdate=2008-10-05}}</ref>  It is also used in [[Tanacross language|Tanacross]], a related Athabaskan language.<ref>{{cite web |last=Holton |first=Gary |date=April 2004 |title=Writing Tanacross Without Special Fonts |url=http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/tanacross/writing.html |accessdate=2008-10-05 |publisher=Alaska Native Language Center}}</ref>

When transcribing [[Armenian language|Armenian]] into the Latin alphabet, {{angbr|Ł}} may be used to write the letter {{angbr|Ղ}} {{IPA|/ʁ/}}, for example Ղուկաս => Łukas. In [[Classical Armenian]], {{angbr|Ղ}} was pronounced as {{IPA|/ɫ/}}, which morphed into {{IPA|/ʁ/}} in both standard varieties of modern Armenian. Other transcriptions of {{angbr|Ղ}} include {{angbr|Ṙ}}, {{angbr|Ġ}} or {{angbr|Gh}}.<!--For Venetion, see 'See also' section-->

==Computer usage<ref>{{cite web |title=Unicode Character 'LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH STROKE' (U+0142) |url=https://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/0142/index.htm |accessdate=2007-12-20 |publisher=FileFormat.info}}</ref>==
{{charmap|0141|0142
| name1            = LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH STROKE
| name2            = LATIN LOWERCASE LETTER L WITH STROKE
| map1             = [[Code page 852|CP 852]]
| map1char1        = 9D
| map1char2        = 88
| map2             = CP 775
| map2char1        = AD
| map2char2        = 88
| map3             = [[Mazovia encoding|Mazovia]]
| map3char1        = 9C
| map3char2        = 92
| map4             = [[Windows-1250]]
| map4char1        = A3
| map4char2        = B3
| map5             = [[Windows-1257]]
| map5char1        = D9
| map5char2        = F6
| map6             = [[ISO/IEC 8859-2|ISO-8859-2]]
| map6char1        = A3
| map6char2        = B3
| map7             = [[ISO/IEC 8859-13|ISO-8859-13]]
| map7char1        = D9
| map7char2        = F6
| map8             = [[Mac OS Central European encoding|x-mac-ce]]
| map8char1        = FC
| map8char2        = B8
| namedref1        = [[Character_encodings_in_HTML#HTML character references|HTML]]
| ref1char1        = &#0321
| ref1char2        = &#0322
| namedref2        = [[TeX]]
| ref2char1        = \L
| ref2char2        = \l
| namedref3        = [[LaTeX]]
| ref3char1        = \L{}
| ref3char2        = \l{}
}}

==See also==

* [[Short U|Ў, ў – short U]] (Belarusian Cyrillic)
* [[Pound sign|£ – pound sign]]
* In [[Venetian language#Sound system|Venetian]], a similar glyph {{angbr|Ƚ}}, {{angbr|ƚ}} ([[L with bar]], a horizontal bar) is used as substitution for L in many words in which the pronunciation of "L" has changed for some dialects, i.e. by becoming voiceless or becoming the sound of the shorter vowel corresponding to {{IPA|/[[ɰ]]/}} or {{IPA|/[[ɛ]]/}}.
* [[Ɨ]] (I-bar)

==References==
<references responsive="1"></references>

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Ł}}

* [http://www.twardoch.com/download/polishhowto/stroke.html Kreska ukośna] in ''Polish Diacritics: How to?'', by [[Adam Twardoch]], [[Poland|Polish]] country delegate at [[ATypI]]
{{Latin script|Ł
}}