Unit 13: Nasal Consonants

Nasal consonants /m/, /n/, /ŋ/ with air flowing through the nose.

Lezioni

/m/Sound /m/6 parole /n/Sound /n/6 parole /ŋ/Sound /ŋ/6 parole /n/vs/ŋ/Pair /n/ vs /ŋ/12 parole

Unit 13 — Nasal Consonants

This unit covers the three English nasal consonants: /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/.

What makes a nasal sound?

The soft palate (velum) lowers, opening the passage to the nose.
The mouth is fully blocked at some point, so all the air escapes through the nose.
The vocal cords vibrate — every nasal in English is voiced.

Quick test: Pinch your nose while saying mmm, nnn, or -ng. The sound stops immediately. This proves the air is travelling through the nasal cavity.

The three places of articulation:

/m/ — bilabial: both lips closed.
/n/ — alveolar: tongue tip on the ridge behind the upper teeth.
/ŋ/ — velar: back of the tongue against the soft palate (as in sing, song, long).

Nasals are easy to hear but tricky to place correctly, especially /ŋ/ at the end of words. Take your time with each lesson.