L, the German Kurrent letter l

History

The letter L occupies the 12th position in the German alphabet. Phonetically, it represents an alveolar lateral approximant /l/, clear and unvelarized across standard German dialects.

Lowercase l in Kurrent is an elegant, tall ascending loop rising into the upper third of the line, descending in a straight vertical stem to the baseline, and curving upward into an exit link. Capital L is formed with a graceful top loop that transitions into a flowing S-curve spine and finishes with a horizontal wavy base stroke.

The letter l occurs frequently in German geographical and administrative entries, from 'Land' (state) and 'Leipzig' to 'Ledig' (unmarried) and 'Lehrer' (teacher). Its smooth single loop contrasts with the complex multi-stroke letters around it.

The sound of l is a liquid, close enough to the vowels to make a syllable on its own, as in Handel, spoken handl; Bavarian spelling sometimes writes it that way, as in the surname Seidl.^[1] L is the eleventh most frequent letter in German text, at about 3.4% of all letters.^[2]