1122: Unvoiced Nasal Consonants Jan 4, 2018

Nasal consonants were discussed yesterday with regard to how they still require movement of the oral tract. What was not discussed was that the fact that every nasal consonant in English is voiced, which is to say that the glottis is involved. To understand the difference physically on yourself, put your finger on your throat gently while producing [s] (which is not voiced) and then switch to [z]—the voiced equivalent—and notice the additional vibration. This same voicing (vibration of the glottis) is present in [m], [n], and [ŋ], and this is true of most nasal consonants in most languages. A few, including Icelandic, Burmese, Jalapa Mazatec, and Welsh have unvoiced nasal consonants. Astonishingly Iaai has 6 such consonants: /m̥ m̥ʷ n̪̊ ɳ̊ ɲ̊ ŋ̊/. This fun video from

Glossika Phonics has an audio of what [m̥] sounds like, with a visual aid as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcSsEbwyBFk

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