top of page

IPA symbols for the phonetic transcription of nasals

LINGUO LABIAL
•
DENTAL
•
RETROFLEX
•
VELAR
•
LABIAL
VELAR
•
• VOICED
•
LABIAL
•
LABIO
DENTAL
•
ALVEOLAR
•
PALATAL
•
UVULAR
• VOICELESS

Listen to the nasals in the videos below

stamp.png
stamp.png
stamp.png
Voiceless
RETROFLEX •
Nasal
VLRetroflex.png
Voiced
• RETROFLEX
Nasal
VRetroflex.png
stamp.png
Voiceless
PALATAL •
Nasal
VLPalatal.png
Voiced
• PALATAL
Nasal
Voiced Palatal Nasal
stamp.png
Voiceless
VELAR •
Nasal
VLVelar.png
Voiced
• VELAR
Nasal
VVelar.png
stamp.png
Voiceless
UVULAR •
Nasal
VLUvular.png
Voiced
• UVULAR
Nasal
VUvular.png
Voiceless
LABIAL - VELAR •
Nasal
VLLabial-Velar.png
Voiced
• LABIAL - VELAR
Nasal
VLabial-Velar.png
stamp.png
LABIAL •
Phonetic symbol for the voiced labial nasal.
• LABIAL
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiceless
LINGUO-LABIAL •
Voiced
• LINGUO-LABIAL
Nasal
Phonetic symbol for the voiced linguo-labial nasal.
Phonetic symbol for the voiceless labial nasal.
Phonetic symbol for the voiceless linguolabial nasal.
Voiceless
LABIO-DENTAL •
Phonetic symbol for the voiceless labiodental nasal.
Voiced
• LABIO - DENTAL
Phonetic symbol of the voiced labiodental nasal.
Voiceless
DENTAL •
Phonetic symbol of the voiceless dental nasal.
Voiced
• DENTAL
Phonetic symbol of the voiced dental nasal.
Voiceless
ALVEOLAR •
Phonetic symbol for the voiceless alveolar nasal.
Voiced
• ALVEOLAR
Phonetic symbol of the voiced alveolar nasal.
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
VOICED •
VOICELESS •
Anchor 1
Anchor 2
Anchor 3
Anchor 4
Anchor 5
Anchor 6
Anchor 7
Voiceless
RETROFLEX •
Phonetic symbol of the voiceless retroflex nasal.
Voiced
• RETROFLEX
Phonetic symbol for the voiced retroflex nasal.
Voiceless
PALATAL •
Phonetic symbol of the voiceless palatal nasal.
Voiced
• PALATAL
Phonetic symbol of the voiced palatal nasal.
Voiceless
VELAR •
Phonetic symbol for the voiceless velar nasal.
Voiced
• VELAR
Phonetic symbol of the voiced velar nasal.
Voiceless
Nasal
Voiced
Nasal
LABIAL - VELAR •
Phonetic symbol for the voiceless labial-velar nasal.
• LABIAL - VELAR
Phonetic symbol for the voiced labial-velar nasal.
Voiceless
UVULAR •
Phonetic symbol of the voiceless uvular nasal.
Voiced
• UVULAR
Phonetic symbol for the voiced uvual nasal.
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal
Nasal

Nutshell phonetics of nasals

Nasals are speech sounds which are produced by means of a constriction which completely blocks the airflow through the mouth, however, the air is allowed to flow through the nose. In [n] for example, the tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge and both sides of the tongue make contact with the palate too. This creates an obstruction which prevents the air to flow out of the mouth. However, in nasals the velum is lowered so that the air is directed into the nasal cavity through which it can escape freely.

​

The vast majority of languages in the world have voiced nasals. Voiceless nasals are very rare. Examples of languages with voiceless nasals are Burmese, Welsh and Icelandic. Nasals can also be modified by different voice qualities such as breathiness (Tsonga, southern Africa) or creaky voice (in north-west American Indian languages such as Kwakw'ala).

For the phonetic transcription of nasals, the phonetic notation system of the International Phonetic Association distinguishes between 7 discrete phonetic symbols. The symbols for other nasal sounds are derived from these by adding diacritics. Most phonetic symbols and some of the diacritics are illustrated in the videos above which you may find useful as ear training exercises in practical phonetics. In a practical phonetics perspective, the nasals are characterised by a low frequency resonance and they may not always be easily identified: watching the speaker is equally important as listening. In order to avoid clutter and competition with other diacritics, I have consistently placed the voiceless diacritic above the main symbol for the nasal.

In terms of their place of articulation, the most common nasals in languages are the labial, alveolar and velar which very often co-occur in sound systems. Some languages have nasals at 6 places of articulation such as Malayalam (Pakistan): this language has a labial, dental, alveolar, retroflex, palatal and a velar nasal. There are very few languages which have no nasals at all, but an example of such a language is the American Indian Language Quileute.

The most frequent nasals in languages of the world are:

[ m ] > [ n ] > [ ŋ ] > [ ɲ ] > [ n̪ ]
 

In some nasals there is a stricture of complete closure at two different places in the mouth: these are double articulations. The labial-velar is particularly frequent. Although this sound is referred to as a "labial-velar" nasal, it is transcribed by a combination of the phonetic symbol for the velar nasal followed by the symbol for the labial nasal. Labial-velar nasals are particularly common in West and Central African languages.
​

The videos below illustrate the processes involved in the production of nasals and they appear in languages like Dutch and English. In all cases you should note the full obstruction in the mouth which is created by contact between the lips or contact between the tongue and the roof of the mouth. The velum is not raised so that the airflow is directed into the nasal cavity. In all the examples below, the vocal folds vibrate.

​

Visual illustration of a few nasal articulations

Voiced
  LABIAL
Nasal
Voiced
  ALVEOLAR
Nasal
Voiced
VELAR
Nasal
Phonetic symbol for the voiced labial nasal.
Phonetic symbol of the voiced alveolar nasal.
Phonetic symbol of the voiced velar nasal.
Anchor 8
Anchor 8
Anchor 9
Anchor 9
Anchor 10
Anchor 10
Theory
Anchor 12
Animations
bottom of page