Wikipedia

Voiced velar nasal

A voiced velar nasal, also known as eng, engma, or agma (from Greek ἆγμα âgma 'fragment'), is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It is the sound of ng in English sing as well as n before velar consonants as in English and ink.

Voiced velar nasal
ŋ
IPA number119
Audio sample
Encoding
Entity (decimal)ŋ
Unicode (hex)U+014B
X-SAMPAN
Braille⠫ (braille pattern dots-1246)

The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ŋ⟩. The IPA symbol ⟨ŋ⟩ is similar to ⟨ɳ⟩, the symbol for the retroflex nasal, which has a rightward-pointing hook extending from the bottom of the right stem, and to ⟨ɲ⟩, the symbol for the palatal nasal, which has a leftward-pointing hook extending from the bottom of the left stem.

While almost all languages have /m/ and /n/ as phonemes, /ŋ/ is rarer.[1] Half of the 469 languages surveyed in Anderson (2008) had a velar nasal phoneme; as a further curiosity, many of them limit its occurrence to the syllable coda. The velar nasal does not occur in many of the languages of the Americas, the Middle East, or the Caucasus, but it is extremely common among Australian Aboriginal languages, languages of Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asian and Southeast Asian languages, and Polynesian languages. The Láá Láá Bwamu language is one of the few languages that has the sound as its only nasal consonant.[2] In many languages that do not have the velar nasal as a phoneme, such as most of the Romance languages, it occurs as an allophone of /n/ before velar consonants. This kind of assimilation can even be found in languages with phonemic voiced velar nasals, such as English. An example of this phenomenon is the word income; its underlying representation, /ˈɪnˌkʌm/, can be realized as either [ˈɪnˌkʌm] or [ˈɪŋˌkʌm].

An example of a language that lacks a phonemic or allophonic velar nasal is Russian, in which /n/ is pronounced as laminal denti-alveolar [n̪] even before velar consonants.[3]

Some languages have a pre-velar nasal,[4] which is articulated slightly more front compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical velar nasal, though not as front as the prototypical palatal nasal – see that article for more information.

Conversely, some languages have a post-velar nasal,[5] which is articulated slightly behind the place of articulation of a prototypical velar nasal, though not as back as the prototypical uvular nasal.

Features

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Sagittal section of a voiced velar nasal

Features of a voiced velar nasal:

  • Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Because the consonant is also nasal, the blocked airflow is redirected through the nose.
  • Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
  • Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
  • It is a nasal consonant, which means air is exclusively allowed to escape through the nose for nasal stops; otherwise, in addition to through the mouth.
  • It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
  • Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

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LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
Albanianngaqë[ŋɡacə]'because'
Aleut[6]chaang / ча̄ӈ[tʃɑːŋ]'five'
ArabicHejazi
[citation needed]		مــنــقل / mingal [mɪŋɡal]'brazier'Allophone of /n/ before velar stops. See Hejazi Arabic phonology
ArmenianEastern[7]ընկեր / ënker[əŋˈkɛɾ]'friend'Allophone of /n/ before velar consonants
Assameseৰং / ŗông[ɹɔŋ]'color'
Asturiannon[nõŋ]'no'Allophone of /n/ in word-final position, either before consonants other than velar stops or vowel-beginning words or before a pause.
BambaraŋonI[ŋoni]'guitar'
Bashkirмең / meñ / مىُڭ[mɪ̞ŋ]ⓘ'one thousand'
Basquehanka[haŋka]'leg'
Bengaliরঙ / rông[ɾɔŋ]'color'
Bulgarian[8]тънко / tănko[ˈtɤŋko]'thin'
Burmeseငရုတ်[ŋə joʊʔ]'chilli'
Cantonese昂 / ngòhng[ŋɔːŋ˩]'raise'See Cantonese phonology
Catalan[9]sang[ˈsaŋ(k)]'blood'See Catalan phonology
Cebuanongano[ˈŋano]'why'
Chamorrongånga'[ŋɑŋaʔ]'duck'
Chukchiӈыроӄ / ṇyroq[ŋəɹoq]'three'
Czechtank[taŋk]'tank'See Czech phonology
Dinkaŋa[ŋa]'who'
Danishsang[sɑŋˀ]'song'See Danish phonology
Dutch[10]angst[ɑŋst]'fear'See Dutch phonology
Eastern Min疑 / ngì[ŋi53]'suspect'
Englishsing[sɪŋ]ⓘ'sing'Restricted to the syllable coda. See English phonology
Faroeseong[ɔŋk]'meadow'
Fijiangone[ˈŋone]'child'
Finnishkangas[ˈkɑŋːɑs]'cloth'Occurs in native vocabulary only intervocally (as a geminate) and before /k/. See Finnish phonology
French[11]Standardcamping[kɑ̃piŋ(ɡ)]ⓘ'camping'Occurs mainly in words borrowed from English or Chinese. See French phonology
Southern Francepain[pɛŋ]ⓘ'bread'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 an Occitan substrate.
Galicianunha[ˈuŋa]ⓘ'one' (f.)
Gan牙 / nga[ŋa]'tooth'
Germanlang[laŋ]'long'See Standard German phonology
Georgianანგარება / angareba[äŋgäɾe̞bä]'egoism/greed'Allophone of /n/ before /k/ and /g/ in colloquial or fast speech.
Greekάγχος / anchos['aŋxo̞s]'Stress'See Modern Greek phonology
HakkaSixian我 / ngai[ŋai˨˦]'I'
HebrewStandardאנגלית / anglit[aŋɡˈlit]'English language'Allophone of /n/ before velar stops. See Modern Hebrew phonology
Sephardiעין / nayin[ŋaˈjin]'Ayin'See Sephardi Hebrew
Hiligaynonbuang[bu'äŋ]'crazy/mentally unstable'
HindustaniHindiरंग / रङ्ग / raṅg[rəŋg]'color'See Hindustani phonology
Urduرن٘گ / raṅg
Homaraṅ[maraŋ]'big'
Hungarianing[iŋɡ]'shirt'Allophone of /n/ before /g/. See Hungarian phonology
Icelandicgöng[ˈkœy̯ŋk]'tunnel'See Icelandic phonology
Ilocanongalngal[ŋalŋal]'to chew'
Inuktitutᐴᙳᐆᖅ / puunnguuq[puːŋŋuːq]'dog'
Inuvialuktunqamnguiyuaq[qamŋuijuaq]'snores'
Irisha nglór[ˌə̃ ˈŋl̪ˠoːɾˠ]'their voice'Occurs word-initially as a result of the consonantal mutation eclipsis. See Irish phonology
Italian[12]anche[ˈaŋke]'also'Allophone of /n/ before /k/ and /ɡ/. See Italian phonology
Itelmenқниң[qniŋ]'one'
JapaneseStandard南極 / nankyoku[naŋkʲokɯ]'the South Pole'See Japanese phonology
Eastern dialects[13]鍵 / kagi[kaŋi]'key'
Javanesesengak[səŋak]stinkAdditional /ŋ/ caused by vowel after /ŋ/ sounding
JinYuci我 / ngie[ŋie]'I'
Kagayanen[14]manang[manaŋ]'older sister'
Karelian[15]ongi[ˈoŋɡi]'fishing rod'Occurs only before /g/, /k/ and /kk/.
KarenEastern Pwoငယ်ငဝ်[ŋɛ̀ ŋɔ̀]'enter into a heated argument'
Western Pwoငါငီၩငါစၪ[ŋâ ŋɔ́ ŋâ sà]'stupid; not very intelligent'
Kazakhмың / myń / مىڭ[məŋ]'thousand'
Kyrgyzмиң / miñ / مئڭ[miŋ]
Ketаяң / ajaņ[ajaŋ]'to damn'
Kharia[16]लअङ[lǎŋ]'tongue'A pervasive rising tone related to stress is found in monosyllabic stems. See Anderson (2014) for discussion.
Khasingap[ŋap]'honey'
Khmer
  • [ŋiəj]
  • [kɑːsaːŋ]
  • 'easy'
  • 'to build'
See Khmer phonology
Korean성에 / seonge[sʌŋe]'window frost'See Korean phonology
KurdishNorthernceng / جه‌نگ[dʒɛŋ]'war'See Kurdish phonology
Centralجه‌نگ / ceng
Southern
Lugandaŋaaŋa[ŋɑːŋɑ]'hornbill'
Luxembourgish[17]keng[kʰæŋ]'nobody'See Luxembourgish phonology
Macedonianaнглиски / angliski[ˈaŋɡliski]'English'Occurs as an allophone of /n/ before /k/ and /ɡ/.[18]
MalayMalaysian and Indonesianbangun / باڠون[ˈbaŋʊn]'wake up'
Kelantan-Pattanisini[si.niŋ]'here'See Kelantan-Pattani Malay
Terengganuayam[a.jaŋ]'chicken'See Terengganu Malay
Malayalam[6]മാങ്ങ / maanga /مٰاۼَ[maːŋŋɐ]'mango'See Malayalam phonology
MandarinStandard北京 / Běijīng[peɪ˨˩tɕiŋ˥]'Beijing'Restricted to the syllable coda. See Mandarin phonology
Sichuanese我 / ngo3[ŋɔ˨˩]'I'
Marathiरंग / ranga[rəŋə]'colour'See Marathi phonology
Mariеҥ / eng[jeŋ]'human'
Minangkabaumangarasau[mäŋäräsäu̯]'nonsense'
Mongolianтэнгэр / teŋger[teŋger]'sky'
Nepaliनङ / nang[nʌŋ]'nail'See Nepali phonology
Nganasanӈаӈ / ngang[ŋaŋ]'mouth'
Nivkhңамг / ngamg[ŋamɡ]'seven'
North FrisianMooringkåchelng[ˈkɔxəlŋ]'stove'
Northern Min外 / ngui[ŋui]'outside'
Northern Sámi[19]Eastern Finnmarkmaŋis[mɒːŋiːs]'behind'
Western Finnmarkmáŋga[mɑːŋˑka]'many'[ŋ] has merged with [ɲ] in Western Finnmark, except before velar stops.
Norwegiangang[ɡɑŋ]'hallway'See Norwegian phonology
Odiaଏବଂ / ebang[ebɔŋ]'and'
Okinawannkai[ŋkai]'to'Allophone of [n] before velars, before consonants in an onset cluster, and also word-finally in some dialects.
Ottoman Turkishیڭی / yeŋi[jeŋi]'new'
PanjabiGurmukhiਰੰਗ / rang[rəŋ]'color'
Shahmukhiرنگ / rang
PersianIranian[ræŋg]Allophone of /n/ before velar plosives. See Persian phonology
Pipilnemanha[nemaŋa]'later'
Polish[20]bank[bäŋk]'bank'Allophone of /n/ before /k, ɡ, x/; post-palatal before /kʲ, ɡʲ/.[21][22] See Polish phonology
Portuguesemanga[ˈmɐ̃(ŋ)ɡɐ]'mango'Occurs occasionally in slow, careful speech, as an allophone of /n/ before /ɡ/ and /k/, when the speaker does not delete the /n/ by fusing it with the preceding vowel.
OccitanProvençalvin[viŋ]'wine'
Rapanuihanga[haŋa]'bay'Sometimes written ⟨g⟩ in Rapanui
RomanianȚara Moților Transylvanian[23]câine['kɨŋi]'dog'Allophone of /n/ before /k, g, h/ in Standard Romanian. See Romanian phonology
Samoangagana[ŋaˈŋana]'language'
Serbo-Croatian[24]stanka / станка[stâːŋka]'pause'Allophone of /n/ before /k, ɡ, x/.[24] See Serbo-Croatian phonology
Sericomcáac[koŋˈkaak]'Seri people'
Shonan'anga[ŋaŋɡa]'traditional healer'
Slovenetank[ˈt̪âːŋk]'tank'
Southern MinHokkien黃 / n̂g[ŋ̍˨˦]'yellow'
Teochew黃 / ng5[ŋ̍55]
Spanish[25]All dialectsdomingo[d̪o̞ˈmĩŋɡo̞]'Sunday'Allophone of /n/ before velar consonants. See Spanish phonology
Galician Spanish, Andalusian, Canarian, Andean, and most Caribbean dialectsalquitrán[alkiˈtɾaŋ]'tar'Allophone of /n/ in word-final position regardless of what follows.
Swahiling'ombe / نݝٗومْبٖ[ŋombɛ]'cow'
SwedishStandardingenting[ɪŋɛnˈtʰɪŋ]'nothing'See Swedish phonology
Southern Västerbotten[26]ngiv[ˈŋiːv]'knife'
Tagalognganga[ŋɐˈŋa]'opening one's mouth'
Tamilஇங்கே / in̄gē / يِࢳࢴࣣي[iŋgeː]'here'
Teluguవాఙ్మయం[ʋaːŋmajam]'literature'Allophone of anuswara when followed by velar stop
TibetanStandardང / nga[ŋa˩˧]'I'
Thaiงาน / ngaan[ŋaːn]'work'
Nuer - Thok Nathŋa[ŋa]'who?' or 'Is who?'
Tongantangata[taŋata]'man'
Tuamotuanrangi / ragi[raŋi]'sky'
Tundra Nenetsӈэва / ŋəwa[ŋæewa]'head'
Tupimonhang[mɔɲaŋ]'to make'See Tupian phonology
Turkishyangın[jɑŋˈɡɯn̟]'fire'Allophone of /n/ before /k/ and /g/
Turkmenmüň / مۆنگ[myŋ]'thousand'
Tyapnɡɡwon[ŋɡʷən]'child'
Uyghurمىڭ / ming[miŋ]'thousand'
Uzbekming / مینگ[miŋ]'thousand'
Venetianman[maŋ]'hand'
Vietnamese[27]ngà[ŋaː˨˩]'ivory'See Vietnamese phonology
Welshrhwng[r̥ʊŋ]'between'
West Frisiankening[ˈkeːnɪŋ]'king'
Wu五 / ng[ŋ˩˧]'five'
Xhosaing'ang'ane[iŋaŋaːne]'hadada ibis'
Xiang熬 / ngau[ŋau]'to boil'
Yiꉢ / nga[ŋa˧]'I'
Yup'ikungungssiq[uŋuŋssiq]'animal'
ZapotecTilquiapan[28]yan[jaŋ]'neck'Word-final allophone of lenis /n/

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Ladefoged (2005), p. 164. The oral counterparts /p, t, k/ are found together in almost all languages
  2. ↑ "Phonological Typology of Velar Nasals". Retrieved 2026-01-14.
  3. ↑ Jones & Ward (1969), p. 160.
  4. ↑ Instead of "pre-velar", it can be called "advanced velar", "fronted velar", "front-velar", "palato-velar", "post-palatal", "retracted palatal" or "backed palatal".
  5. ↑ Instead of "post-velar", it can be called "retracted velar", "backed velar", "pre-uvular", "advanced uvular" or "fronted uvular".
  6. 1 2 Ladefoged (2005), p. 165.
  7. ↑ Dum-Tragut (2009), p. 19.
  8. ↑ Sabev, Mitko. "Bulgarian Sound System". Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  9. ↑ Carbonell & Llisterri (1992), p. 53.
  10. ↑ Gussenhoven (1992), p. 45.
  11. ↑ Wells (1989), p. 44.
  12. ↑ Rogers & d'Arcangeli (2004), p. 118.
  13. ↑ Okada (1999), p. 118.
  14. ↑ Olson et al. (2010), pp. 206–207.
  15. ↑ 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. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  16. ↑ Anderson, Gregory D. S. (2016). "Austroasiatic languages of South Asia". In Hock, Hans Henrich; Bashir, Elena (eds.). The Languages and Linguistics of South Asia: A Comprehensive Guide. Volume 7 of The World of Linguistics. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. pp. 107–130. doi:10.1515/9783110423303-003.
  17. ↑ Gilles & Trouvain (2013), pp. 67–68.
  18. ↑ Friedman, Victor A. (2002). Macedonian. München: Lincom Europa. p. 10.
  19. ↑ Aikio & Ylikoski (2022), p. 151.
  20. ↑ Jassem (2003), p. 103.
  21. ↑ Gussmann (1974), pp. 107, 111 and 114.
  22. ↑ Ostaszewska & Tambor (2000), pp. 35, 41 and 86.
  23. ↑ Pop (1938), p. 31.
  24. 1 2 Landau et al. (1999), p. 67
  25. ↑ Martínez-Celdrán, Fernández-Planas & Carrera-Sabaté (2003), p. 258.
  26. ↑ Söderström, Sven (1980). Hössjömålet: ordbok över en sydvästerbottnisk dialekt (2. uppl ed.). Umeå: Dialekt- och ortnamnsarkivet. ISBN 978-91-970358-1-1.
  27. ↑ Thompson (1959), pp. 458–461.
  28. ↑ Merrill (2008), p. 109.

References

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  • Aikio, Ante; Ylikoski, Jussi (2022), "North Saami", in Bakró-Nagy, Marianne; Laakso, Johanna; Skribnik, Elena (eds.), The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages, Oxford Guides to the World's Languages, Oxford University Press, pp. 147–177, doi:10.1093/oso/9780198767664.003.0010, ISBN 978-0-19-876766-4
  • Anderson, Gregory D. S. (2008), "The Velar Nasal", in Haspelmath, Martin; Dryer, Matthew S; Gil, David; et al. (eds.), The World Atlas of Language Structures Online, Munich: Max Planck Digital Library, retrieved 2008-04-30
  • Carbonell, Joan F.; Llisterri, Joaquim (1992), "Catalan", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 22 (1–2): 53–56, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004618, S2CID 249411809
  • Dum-Tragut, Jasmine (2009), Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company
  • Gilles, Peter; Trouvain, Jürgen (2013), "Luxembourgish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (1): 67–74, doi:10.1017/S0025100312000278
  • Gussenhoven, Carlos (1992), "Dutch", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 22 (2): 45–47, doi:10.1017/S002510030000459X, S2CID 243772965
  • Gussmann, Edmund (1974), Fisiak, Jacek (ed.), "Nasality in Polish and English" (PDF), Papers and Studies in Contrastive Linguistics, 2, Poznań: Adam Mickiewicz University: 105–122
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  • Merrill, Elizabeth (2008), "Tilquiapan Zapotec", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 38 (1): 107–114, doi:10.1017/S0025100308003344
  • 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, ISBN 978-0-52163751-0
  • Olson, Kenneth; Mielke, Jeff; Sanicas-Daguman, Josephine; Pebley, Carol Jean; Paterson, Hugh J. III (2010), "The phonetic status of the (inter)dental approximant" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 40 (2): 199–215, doi:10.1017/S0025100309990296, S2CID 38504322
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  • Pop, Sever (1938), Micul Atlas Linguistic Român, Muzeul Limbii Române Cluj
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  • Rogers, Derek; d'Arcangeli, Luciana (2004), "Italian", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34 (1): 117–121, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001628
  • Söderström, Sven (1980), Ordbok över en sydvästerbottnisk dialekt. På grundval av Evert Larssons samlingar, Dialekt- o. ortnamnsarkivet, ISBN 91-970358-1-5
  • Thompson, Laurence (July 1959). "Saigon phonemics". Language. 35 (3): 454–476. doi:10.2307/411232. JSTOR 411232.
  • Wells, J.C. (1989), "Computer-Coded Phonemic Notation of Individual Languages of the European Community", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 19 (1): 31–54, doi:10.1017/S0025100300005892, S2CID 145148170
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