The English Nasals
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
Anglistisches Seminar
WS 2006/2007
Proseminar 1 (Linguistik): "Modern Phonology"
AE
2
TABLE OF CONTENT
FEHLER! TEXTMARKE NICHT DEFINIERT.
1. INTRODUCTION
3
2. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF NASALS
4
2.1.
N
ONNASALS AND NASALS
4
2.2.
A
RTICULATORY AND ACOUSTIC FEATURES
4
2.3.
S
ONORANTS
,
NONCONTINUANTS AND CONSONANTALS
6
3. HOW MANY NASALS DOES ENGLISH HAVE?
7
3.1.
T
HE BILABIAL NASAL
/
M
/
7
3.2.
T
HE ALVEOLAR NASAL
/
N
/
8
3.3.
T
HE VELAR NASAL
/
/
10
4. DIFFERENT TREATMENTS OF THE VELAR NASAL // BY SAPIR AND CHOMSKY 13
4.1.
E
DWARD
S
APIR
13
4.2.
N
OAM
C
HOMSKY
14
4.2.1.
L
INGUISTIC EXAMPLES FOR THE THREE LEVELS OF ADEQUACY
16
5. CONCLUSION
19
BIBLIOGRAPHY
20
3
1. Introduction
Phonology is "the science of the study of speech sounds" (Swadesh 1934: 43). In order
to classify distinct speech sounds, the manners and places of articulation play an important
role. Places of articulation are for instance, bilabial or labiodental. Manners of articulation are
for instance, plosive or fricative. As they help to define a sound in more detail, they express
phonemic contrasts. Consequently, within this linguistic study, sounds are observed for their
articulatory, acoustic and auditory features. Such characteristics are important to provide
phonetic descriptions of sounds (Giegerich 1992: 112). Thus, the examination of human
speech sounds during the process of their production is essential in phonology.
The English language consists of 26 consonant phonemes (Giegerich 1992: 113).
However, in this linguistic paper only the category of the nasal stops will be closely
discussed. The first section will deal with the general features of nasal stops. Nasals and non-
nasals will be distinguished by explaining the main articulatory and auditory quality of nasals;
and by underlining the main class features of sonorants, noncontinuants and consonantals.
The second section will take a closer look at the three nasal consonants [m], [n] and []. There
will be a special focus on the velar nasal []. It has a unique role within the category of the
nasals. The third and last section will finally underline this function. At this point, two
different treatments of the velar nasal [], from Sapir and Chomsky, will be presented.
4
2. General characteristics of nasals
2.1. Nonnasals and nasals
To classify a sound as a nonnasal or as a nasal, it is essential to know the main
distinctive features of each class.
Firstly, a sound is produced when the air, which comes from the lungs, passes through
the larynx and pharynx. The former is "a cartilage casing whose forward part (the Adam´ s
Apple) can be felt just below the chin" (Giegerich 1992: 2). The latter is in "the back of the
throat" (Giegerich 1992: 3)). Secondly, the air enters the nasal cavity or the oral cavity. The
process of articulation comes into effect when the velum - "a soft flap of muscle and tissue in
the back of the throat of the roof of the mouth" (Giegerich 1992: 5) - is lowered or raised.
Therefore, the position of the velum is important to classify nonnasal and nasal sounds.
Whenever the velum is raised, it is "pressed against the back of the pharynx"
(Giegerich 1992: 5). In speech sounds where "the nasal cavity is blocked off in the back of the
throat and where the air stream is directed into the oral cavity" (Giegerich 1992: 3-5),
nonnasal sounds are produced (Chomsky & Halle 1968: 316). Therefore, the air can merely
escape through the open mouth. In contrary, the "nasal sounds are produced with a lowered
velum" (Chomsky & Halle 1968: 316). In this case, the velum "is not raised against the back
of the pharynx" (Giegerich 1992: 5). The oral cavity has to "be blocked off somewhere
further forward in the mouth" (Giegerich 1992: 5) so that the air stream can pass through the
nasal cavity and is released through the nostrils (Giegerich 1992: 3); a nasal sound is
produced.
2.2. Articulatory and acoustic features
Since the articulatory position of the nasals and of the stops (plosives) is in the same
area of the mouth, some phoneticians consequently call nasal sounds "nasal stops" (Knútsson
2002). Stephen G. Lambacher (1996), for instance, states that "both are produced with an
obstruction somewhere within the oral cavity", but nasals are formed with the help of the
entire vocal tract, the nasal cavity and nasopharnyx. Alfred C. Gimson (1962) differentiates
nasals and plosives:
(Nasals) differ from such plosives in that the soft palate is in its lowered
position, allowing an escape of air into the nasal cavity and giving the sound
the special resonance provided by the naso-pharyngeal cavity (193).
5
Oral stop consonants like /p/ or /b/ are produced when there is an obstruction of the nasal
cavity. The articulatory position of the consonant /p/ and /m/ are shown below.
Figure one: Articulatory position of the consonant /p/ and /m/ (Knútsson 2002)
/p/= unvoiced, bilabial, plosive
(nonnasal sound)
/m/= voiced, bilabial, nasal sound
Air is released through the nose in
order to produce the sound.
Thus, the nasal sounds can be included into the table of plosives of figure two, because the
three nasal phonemes correspond to the three oral plosive areas of articulation.
Figure two: Table of plosives (Knútsson 2002)
Phonemic (distinctive) features
bilabial
alveolar
velar
fortis plosives
p
t
k
lenis plosives
b
d
g
(lenis) nasals
m
n
This consonant chart of English plosives shows that /m/ corresponds to /p, b/, /n/ to /t, d/ and
// to /k, g/. The plosives /p/ and /b/ can be differentiated into voiceless (fortis) and voiced
(lenis) (Cruttenden 1962: 193).
Acoustic features of nasal sounds also exist. In contrast to plosives or fricatives, nasal
sounds never have a noise component (Cruttenden 1962: 193). However, the key acoustic
feature of nasal sounds is that all of them have "a low frequency ´murmur´ below 500 Hz
which precedes transitions to following sounds and follows transitions from preceding
sounds" (Cruttenden 1962: 193). Furthermore, there is an absence of energy around 1,000 Hz
(Cruttenden 1962: 194).
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