nonnasal

Nonnasal is a linguistic term used to describe sounds produced without nasal resonance. In phonetics, nasality refers to the involvement of the nasal cavity in the production of a sound, typically by lowering the velum to allow air to flow through the nose. Nonnasal sounds are produced with the velum raised, blocking the nasal cavity so air flows only through the oral tract.

In vowels, nonnasal vowels are those produced without nasalization, also called oral vowels. Some languages contrast nasal vowels with nonnasal vowels, while others have only nonnasal vowels. Languages with phonemic nasal vowels include French and Portuguese, where vowels such as ã, õ, and ɛ̃ carry distinct nasalized qualities. In languages without nasal vowels, vowels are typically nonnasal in all phonemic contexts.

In consonants, nonnasal consonants are those produced without nasal airflow. This includes most obstruents (such as p, t, k, f, s, ʃ) and many approximants and liquids, as opposed to nasal consonants like m, n, and ŋ. The feature is commonly described in phonological analyses as [-nasal]. The velum remains raised for nonnasal consonants, preventing air from passing through the nasal cavity.

Nonnasalization can interact with other phonetic and phonological processes, such as nasalization spreading (assimilation) in languages that have nasal vowels or nasal consonants. The term helps contrast sounds and features in phonetic inventories and in the study of how nasal airflow affects articulation and acoustic properties across languages.