nasalconsonant

A nasal consonant is a consonant sound produced with the velum lowered, allowing air to escape through the nose. This differs from oral consonants, where the velum is raised, blocking air from entering the nasal cavity. The airflow is redirected entirely through the mouth.

There are three primary nasal consonants in English: the voiced bilabial nasal /m/, produced with both lips together; the voiced alveolar nasal /n/, produced with the tip of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge; and the voiced velar nasal /ŋ/, produced with the back of the tongue touching the soft palate (velum). The latter is commonly represented by the digraph "ng" as in the word "sing."

Nasal consonants are almost always voiced, meaning the vocal cords vibrate during their production. This is a key characteristic that distinguishes them from many other consonant types. The nasal passage acts as a secondary resonator, affecting the quality of the sound produced.

The concept of nasal consonants extends beyond English and is found in many other languages around the world. The specific articulations and the number of nasal consonants can vary significantly between languages. For example, some languages may have nasal vowels, where the vowel sound is produced with air passing through both the mouth and nose simultaneously, and some languages have additional nasal consonants not found in English.