is in the process of changing from laminal denti-alveolar to apical alveolar , which leads to neutralization with the retroflex allophone . Laminal realization is still possible before vowels, after front and close vowels and after consonants that are not coronal, and is obligatory after . A velarized laminal occurs after mid back vowels , open back vowels , and sometimes also after the close back vowels . However, states that at least in Oslo, the laminal variant is not velarized, and the difference is only between an apical and a laminal realization. is a voiced apical alveolar flap . It is occasionally trilled , e.g. in emphatic speech. Retroflex allophones have been variously described as apical alveolar and apical postalveolar . alternates with in many words (in a small set of words also with ), but there is a small number of words in which only occurs. are velar, whereas is palatal. may be palatal , but is often alveolo-palatal instead. It is unstable in many dialects, and younger speakers in Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo merge with into . Glottal stop may be inserted before word-initial vowels. In very emphatic speech, it can also be inserted word-medially in stressed syllables beginning with a vowel. Most of the retroflex (and postalveolar) consonants are mutations of +any other alveolar/dental consonant; rn > , rt > , rl > , rs > , etc. across word boundaries (sandhi), in loanwords and in a group of primarily literary words may be pronounced , e.g., , but it may also be pronounced in some dialects. Most of the dialects in Eastern, Central and Northern Norway use the retroflex consonants. Most Southern and Western dialects do not have these retroflex sounds; in these areas a guttural realization of the phoneme is commonplace, and seems to be expanding. Depending on phonetic context voiceless () or voiced uvular fricatives () are used. (See map at right.) Other possible pronunciations include a uvular approximant or, more rarely, a uvular trill . There is, however, a small number of dialects that use both the uvular and the retroflex allophones. The retroflex flap, , colloquially known to Norwegians as ('thick l'), is a Central Scandinavian innovation that exists in Eastern Norwegian (including Trøndersk), the southmost Northern dialects, and the most eastern Western Norwegian dialects. It is supposedly non-existent in most Western and Northern dialects. Today there is doubtlessly distinctive opposition