Nasalisáció

Nasalisáció refers to the production of a sound with air passing through the nose. This is a common phonological process in many languages, where a vowel or consonant becomes nasalized. For example, in French, vowels like 'a' and 'o' are often nasalized when followed by a nasal consonant, as in the word "vin" (wine) where the 'in' sound is distinctively nasal. This change occurs because the velum (soft palate) lowers, allowing air to escape through the nasal cavity in addition to the oral cavity.

The phonetic symbol for a nasalized sound is typically a tilde (~) placed above the symbol of the original sound. For instance, [ã] represents a nasalized 'a' sound. Nasalisáció can be phonemic, meaning it distinguishes meaning between words, as in French, or it can be allophonic, where it is a variation of a sound that does not change the meaning of a word, often occurring before nasal consonants in languages like English. The degree of nasalisación can vary, from slight to complete, depending on the language and the phonetic context. It is a fundamental aspect of phonetics and phonology, contributing to the unique sound patterns of spoken languages.