Do you pronounce the L in calm, palm, etc...?

In My Humble Opinion
61

Color me a bit surprised at the three folks from different parts of the country not having heard of the phrase “salve your conscience”. But facts is facts.

I have no idea where or when I learned it, but it was as a kid or teen reading something. And I think I’m sure I’ve encountered it in the wild since. Somehow it’s stuck with me all these years, but obviously I’ve overimagined how common it is.

And ref one comment, no, there’s no religious anything in my background. Not parents, not sibs, minimal reading about religion except as history. As an American, of course I’m steeped in the Xian culture we’re stuck with. But I grew up in a relatively religion-lite part of the country.

'Tis a mystery.

62

I’d never heard it either but just typing in “salve your” into google shows “salve your conscience” as the first autocomplete answer. So google agrees with you about it being a not uncommon phrase.

63

I don’t think I’d ever heard of the dark L before reading this thread.

But yesterday I had NPR on in the car and they were talking about it.

64

Back when I used to work in an office, a co-worker once made fun of me for not pronouncing the ‘L’ in ‘ALMOND’. I asked him, do you pronounce the ‘L’ in ‘SALMON’? How about ‘YOLK’?

I looked it up-- apparently ALMOND both with and without the pronounced ‘L’ is correct. But I’ve taken to pronouncing the ‘L’ now to fit in with humans better.

65

IIRC the folks in the California central valley who grow all those almonds pronounce it something like “amminz” or “amm’nz”

66

Yep. I was driving from L.A. to Bellingham one time in the '90s, listening to an NPR story, and a guy (honcho in the Almond Growers Association, or something like that) kept saying ‘ammins’. Since I’d found the station late, I had no idea what he was talking about. I finally figured out he was talking about ‘all-munds’.

67

Here in California’s Central Valley, the farmers say they’re ALMONDS on the tree, but AMMUNDS after the harvest. The trees are shaken quite violently during harvest to knock the nuts to the ground, and the process shakes the “L” out of 'em.

(I think every almond farmer in the valley thinks he made up that joke.)

68

The words falcon and salmon grew up together but falcon’s L is never in doubt.

I was thinking about folk and I think I say the L, a little, when it’s an adjective or description:

Folk music needs more synth. And less of that folky rhythm.

But not when referring to people:

How are your folks? Strange folks, kinfolk.

69

Some of us learned how to pronounce it from Ren and Stimpy:

(at 1:17)