Avoiced velar nasal, also known aseng,engma, oragma (from Greekἆγμαâgma 'fragment'), is a type ofconsonantal sound used in somespokenlanguages. It is the sound ofng in Englishsing as well asn before velar consonants as inEnglish andink. The symbol in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ŋ⟩. The IPA symbol ⟨ŋ⟩ is similar to ⟨ɳ⟩, the symbol for theretroflex nasal, which has a rightward-pointing hook extending from the bottom of the right stem, and to ⟨ɲ⟩, the symbol for thepalatal nasal, which has a leftward-pointing hook extending from the bottom of the left stem.
An example of a language that lacks a phonemic or allophonic velar nasal isRussian, in which/n/ is pronounced as laminal denti-alveolar[n̪] even before velar consonants.[2]
Some languages have apre-velar nasal,[3] which is articulated slightly more front compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical velar nasal, though not as front as the prototypicalpalatal nasal - see that article for more information.
Conversely, some languages have apost-velar nasal,[4] which is articulated slightly behind the place of articulation of a prototypical velar nasal, though not as back as the prototypicaluvular nasal.
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.
Itsphonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
It is anasal consonant, which means air is exclusively allowed to escape through the nose for nasal stops; otherwise, 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.
For many speakers,[ŋ] acts as a substitute for the nasalization of the preceding vowel, which may still be partially nasal. It is one of the most typical traits of varieties of French influenced by anOccitan substrate.
Occurs occasionally in slow, careful speech, as an allophone of/n/ before/ɡ/ and/k/, when the speaker does not delete the/n/ byfusing it with the preceding vowel.
^Instead of "pre-velar", it can be called "advanced velar", "fronted velar", "front-velar", "palato-velar", "post-palatal", "retracted palatal" or "backed palatal".
^Instead of "post-velar", it can be called "retracted velar", "backed velar", "pre-uvular", "advanced uvular" or "fronted uvular".
^Jeskanen, Matti; Jahn, Eila (2022)."Karjalan grammari kaikella rahvahalla 1" [Karelian Grammar to Commoners 1](PDF) (in Karelian and Finnish). Karjalan Kielet ry. University of Eastern Finland. pp. 13, 19.Archived(PDF) from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved19 October 2024.
^Söderström, Sven (1980).Hössjömålet: ordbok över en sydvästerbottnisk dialekt (2. uppl ed.). Umeå: Dialekt- och ortnamnsarkivet.ISBN978-91-970358-1-1.
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