nasalização

Nasalization is a phonological process that occurs when a vowel sound is produced with air escaping through both the nose and the mouth. This is achieved by lowering the velum, which is the soft tissue at the back of the roof of the mouth. In most languages, vowels are oral, meaning the velum is raised, directing all airflow through the mouth.

Nasal vowels are distinct phonemes in many languages, meaning they can change the meaning of a word. For example, in Portuguese, the word "pão" (bread) has a nasal vowel, while "pa" (he/she, archaic) has an oral vowel. Similarly, in French, the contrast between "beau" (beautiful, masculine) and "bon" (good, masculine) is marked by the nasalization of the final vowel.

The degree of nasalization can vary. Some languages have fully nasalized vowels, while others may have partially nasalized vowels, often occurring before nasal consonants like /m/ or /n/. This phenomenon is not limited to specific language families and appears across diverse linguistic groups.

In addition to changing vowel sounds, nasalization can also affect consonants. A nasal consonant is produced with air passing through the nose. When a vowel is nasalized, the velum is lowered, allowing air to pass through the nasal cavity during the vowel's articulation. This interaction between oral and nasal airflow is central to the concept of nasalization in phonetics and phonology.