Pronouncing Words That End in -lm

Pronouncing Words That End in -lm Pronouncing Words That End in -lm Pronouncing Words That End in -lm By Maeve Maddox Not many one-syllable English words end in the letters -lm. Sometimes the l in them is pronounced; sometimes it isnt. Heres a list of the most common -lm words, together with the pronunciation in the phonetic notation given at Answers.com. Many Americans pronounce all of these words with an l. alms [mz] balm [bm] calm [km] elm [Ä•lm] embalm[Ä•m-bm] film [fÄ ­lm] helm [hÄ•lm] palm [pm] psalm [sm] qualm [kwm] realm [rÄ•lm] whelm [hwÄ•lm] These pronunciations all agree with those given in the OED. Additionally, the OED acknowledges U.S. pronunciations with the sound of l for palm, psalm, and qualm. Merriam-Webster uses the symbol ] to indicate a sound that facilitates the placement of variant pronunciation. For example, ï ¿ ¼]mz. This symbol, which seems to indicate an almost l, is used for the first pronunciation given for alms, balm, calm, embalm, palm, psalm, and qualm. The pronunciation with a full l sound is given as an alternate: also ]lm. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Bare or Bear With Me?How Long Should a Paragraph Be?When to use "an"