Pronuncian Lessons
American English Nasal Sounds
There are three nasal sounds in American English pronunciation: the m sound, n sound, and ng sound. The two major points that beginner ESL/ELL students should understand about nasal sounds are:
- The air is completely blocked from leaving the mouth, and is instead released out through the nose
- All three nasal sounds as voiced, meaning the vocal cords vibrate during the sound
A subtle aspect of two of the n sound to be aware and attempt mastery of is:
- The n sound can become syllabic consonant on unstressed syllables
The n sound as a Syllabic Consonant
On an unstressed syllable, a syllabic consonant can create a syllable even without an accompanying vowel sound. For instance, there is no vowel sound in the second syllable of the words sudden or golden.