Avoiced bilabial nasal is a type ofconsonantal sound which has been observed to occur in about 96% of spokenlanguages.[1] The symbol in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨m⟩. The bilabial nasal occurs inEnglish, and it is the sound represented by "m" inmap andrum. Very few languages (e.g.Wyandot) are known to lack this sound. A small number of languages have been observed to lack independent nasal phonemes altogether, such asQuileute,Makah, andCentral Rotokas.[2]
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.
Because the sound is not produced with airflow over the tongue, thecentral–lateral dichotomy does not apply.
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