The vast majority of languages have either an alveolar or dental nasal.[citation needed] There are a few languages that lack either sound but have[m], such asYoruba,Palauan, and colloquialSamoan (however, these languages all have[ŋ]. An example of a language without[n] and[ŋ] isEdo). There are some languages (e.g.Rotokas) that lack both[m] and[n].
True dental consonants are relatively uncommon. In theRomance,Dravidian, andAustralian languages,n is often called "dental" in the literature. However, the rearmost contact, which gives a consonant its distinctive sound, is actually alveolar ordenti-alveolar. The difference between the Romance languages and English is not so much where the tongue contacts the roof of the mouth but the part of the tongue that makes contact. In English, it is the tip of the tongue (such sounds are termedapical), but in the Romance languages, it is the flat of the tongue just above the tip (such sounds are calledlaminal).
However, there are languages with true apical (or less commonly laminal) dentaln. It is found in theMapuche language of South America, where it is actuallyinterdental. A true dental generally occursallophonically before/θ/ in the languages that have it, as in Englishtenth. Similarly, a denti-alveolar allophone occurs in languages that have denti-alveolar stops, as in Spanishcinta.
Some languages contrast laminal denti-alveolar and apical alveolar nasals. For example, in theMalayalam pronunciation ofNārāyanan, the firstn is dental, the second is retroflex, and the third alveolar.
Itsmanner of articulation isocclusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Because the consonant is alsonasal, the blocked airflow is redirected through the nose.
There are four specific variants of[n]:
Dental, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the upperteeth, termed respectivelyapical andlaminal.
Denti-alveolar, which means it is articulated with the blade of the tongue at thealveolar ridge, and the tip of the tongue behind upper teeth.
Alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectivelyapical andlaminal.
Postalveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge, termed respectivelyapical andlaminal.
Itsphonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
It is anasal consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the nose, either exclusively (nasal stops) or in addition to through the mouth.
It is acentral consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
Barbosa, Plínio A.; Albano, Eleonora C. (2004), "Brazilian Portuguese",Journal of the International Phonetic Association,34 (2):227–232,doi:10.1017/S0025100304001756
Canepari, Luciano (1992),Il MªPi – Manuale di pronuncia italiana [Handbook of Italian Pronunciation] (in Italian), Bologna: Zanichelli,ISBN978-88-08-24624-0
Fougeron, Cecile; Smith, Caroline L (1993), "Illustrations of the IPA:French",Journal of the International Phonetic Association,23 (2):73–76,doi:10.1017/S0025100300004874,S2CID249404451
Keane, Elinor (2004), "Tamil",Journal of the International Phonetic Association,34 (1):111–116,doi:10.1017/S0025100304001549
Klagstad, Harold L. Jr. (1958),The Phonemic System of Colloquial Standard Bulgarian, American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages, pp. 42–54
Martínez-Celdrán, Eugenio; Fernández-Planas, Ana Ma.; Carrera-Sabaté, Josefina (2003), "Castilian Spanish",Journal of the International Phonetic Association,33 (2):255–259,doi:10.1017/S0025100303001373
Mateus, Maria Helena; d'Andrade, Ernesto (2000),The Phonology of Portuguese, Oxford University Press,ISBN978-0-19-823581-1
Okada, Hideo (1999),"Japanese", in International Phonetic Association (ed.),Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge University Press, pp. 117–119,ISBN978-0-52163751-0
Padluzhny, Ped (1989),Fanetyka belaruskai litaraturnai movy, Навука і тэхніка,ISBN978-5-343-00292-8
Pretnar, Tone; Tokarz, Emil (1980),Slovenščina za Poljake: Kurs podstawowy języka słoweńskiego, Katowice: Uniwersytet Śląski
Riad, Tomas (2014),The Phonology of Swedish, Oxford University Press,ISBN978-0-19-954357-1
Rocławski, Bronisław (1976),Zarys fonologii, fonetyki, fonotaktyki i fonostatystyki współczesnego języka polskiego, Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uczelniane Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego
Rogers, Derek; d'Arcangeli, Luciana (2004), "Italian",Journal of the International Phonetic Association,34 (1):117–121,doi:10.1017/S0025100304001628
Sadowsky, Scott; Painequeo, Héctor; Salamanca, Gastón; Avelino, Heriberto (2013), "Mapudungun",Journal of the International Phonetic Association,43 (1):87–96,doi:10.1017/S0025100312000369