Glosario / Glossary

nasal, nasalized: a sound during whose pronunciation air is allowed to pass behind the uvula and through the nose, allowing the nasal cavities to resonate. (See the diagram of the principal organs of articulation.) Sometimes a distinction is made between nasal sounds (usually consonants such as m and n), in which the nasal cavities are the only resonators, and nasalized sounds (usually vowels), in which the oral cavity is also a resonator. Virtually all languages have nasal consonants; some languages (e.g. French and Portuguese) also have nasalized vowels. See manner of articulation. [Spanish: nasal]