View source for Voiced uvular nasal

{{Infobox IPA
|ipa symbol=ɴ
|ipa number=120
|decimal=628
|xsampa=N\
|kirshenbaum=n"
|braille=35
|braille2=1345
|imagefile=Uvular nasal (vector).svg
|imagesize=150px
}}

The '''voiced uvular nasal''' is a type of [[consonant]]al sound, used in some [[Speech communication|spoken]] [[language]]s. The symbol in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] that represents this sound is {{angbr IPA|ɴ}}, a [[small caps|small capital]] version of the Latin letter [[n]]; the equivalent [[X-SAMPA]] symbol is <code>N\</code>.

The uvular nasal is a rare sound cross-linguistically, occurring as a phoneme in only a small handful of languages. It is complex sound in terms of articulation, and also highly marked, as it is inherently difficult to produce a nasal articulation at the uvular point of contact.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Johnson|first=Marion|date=1978|title=A note on the Inuit uvular nasal|journal=Études/Inuit/Studies|volume=2|issue=1|pages=132–135}}</ref> This difficulty can be said to account for the marked rarity of this sound among the world's languages.<ref name=":2" />

The uvular nasal most commonly occurs as a conditioned allophone of other sounds,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Bobaljik|first=Jonathan David|date=October 1996|title=Assimilation in the Inuit Languages and the Place of the Uvular Nasal|journal=International Journal of American Linguistics |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=323–350|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|doi=10.1086/466303|jstor=1265705|s2cid=144140916}}</ref> for example as an allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} before a uvular plosive as in [[Quechuan languages|Quechua]], or as an allophone of /q/ before another nasal consonant as in [[Selkup language|Selkup]]. However, it has been reported to exist as an independent phoneme in a small number of languages. Examples include the [[Klallam language]], the [[Tawellemmet language|Tawellemmet]] and [[Air Tamajeq language|Ayr]] varieties of [[Tuareg languages|Tuareg Berber]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Lexique touareg-français.|last=Karl Prasse, Ghoubeid Alojaly, and Ghabdouane Mohamed|publisher=Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press|year=1998}}</ref> the Rangakha dialect of [[Khams Tibetan]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Suzuki|first=Hiroyuki|date=2007|title=Khams Tibetan Rangakha dialect: phonetic analysis (in Japanese)|url=http://repository.tufs.ac.jp/bitstream/10108/51094/1/aall002008.pdf|journal=Asian and African Languages and Linguistics |issue=2 |pages=131–162}}</ref> at least two dialects of the [[Bai language]],<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|title=Bai Dialect Survey|last=Allen|first=Bryan|date=August 2007|work=SIL Electronic Survey Report 2007-012|citeseerx = 10.1.1.692.4221}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Feng|first=Wang|date=2006|title=Comparison of Languages in Contact: The Distillation Method and the Case of Bai|url=http://www.ling.sinica.edu.tw/Files/LL/UploadFiles/MonoFullText/WF-Bai-All.pdf|journal=Language and Linguistics Monograph Series B. Frontiers in Linguistics III}}</ref> and the Papuan language [[Mapos Buang language|Mapos Buang]].<ref name=":1" /> In [[Mapos Buang language|Mapos Buang]] and in the [[Bai language|Bai]] dialects, it contrasts phonemically with a velar nasal.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /> The syllable-final nasal in Japanese was traditionally said to be realized as a uvular nasal when utterance-final, but empirical studies have disputed this claim.{{sfnp|Maekawa|2021}}

There is also the '''pre-uvular nasal'''<ref>Instead of "pre-uvular", it can be called "advanced uvular", "fronted uvular", "post-velar", "retracted velar" or "backed velar". For simplicity, this article uses only the term "pre-uvular".</ref> in some languages such as [[Yanyuwa language|Yanyuwa]], which is articulated slightly more front compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical uvular nasal, though not as front as the prototypical velar nasal. The International Phonetic Alphabet does not have a separate symbol for that sound, though it can be transcribed as {{angbr IPA|ɴ̟}} ([[Relative articulation#Advanced and retracted|advanced]] {{angbr IPA|ɴ}}), {{angbr IPA|ŋ̠}} or {{angbr IPA|ŋ˗}} (both symbols denote a [[Relative articulation#Advanced and retracted|retracted]] {{angbr IPA|ŋ}}). The equivalent X-SAMPA symbols are <code>N\_+</code> and <code>N_-</code>, respectively.

==Features==
[[File:Voiced uvular nasal.svg|150px]]

Features of the voiced uvular nasal:

{{nasal stop}}
{{uvular}}
{{voiced}}
{{nasal}}
{{central articulation}}
{{pulmonic}}

==Occurrence==

{| class="wikitable"
!colspan=2| Language !! Word !! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]!! Meaning !! Notes
|-
| [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] || Many speakers || {{lang|af|[[Afrikaans alphabet|aa'''n'''genaam]]}} || {{IPA|[ˈɑːɴχənɑːm]}} || 'pleasant' || Allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} before {{IPA|/χ/}}; realized as {{IPAblink|n}} in formal speech. See [[Afrikaans phonology]]
|-
| [[Arabic language|Arabic]] || [[Modern Standard Arabic|Standard]] || {{lang|ar|[[Arabic alphabet|انقلاب]]|rtl=yes}}/inqilāb || {{IPA|[ˌɪɴ.qʰɪˈlæːb]}} || 'coup' || Allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} before {{IPA|/q/}}; more commonly realized as {{IPAblink|n}}.
|-
|colspan=2| [[Armenian language|Armenian]] || {{lang|hy|[[Armenian alphabet|ա'''ն'''խելք]]}}/ankhelkh || {{IPA|[ɑɴˈχɛlkʰ]}} || 'brainless' || Allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} before a uvular consonant in informal speech.
|-
| [[Dutch language|Dutch]] || Netherlandic || {{lang|nl|[[Dutch alphabet|aa'''n'''genaam]]}} || {{IPA|[ˈaːɴχəˌnaːm]}} || 'pleasant' || Allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} and {{IPA|/ŋ/}} in dialects that use {{IPAblink|χ}}. Can be realized as {{IPAblink|n}} in formal speech.
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Georgian language|Georgian]] || {{lang|ka|[[Georgian alphabet|ზი'''ნ'''ყი]]}}/zinq'i || {{IPA|[ziɴqʼi]}} || 'hip joint' || Allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} before [[Uvular consonant|uvular consonants]].
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Inuvialuktun]] || ''namunga'''n'''mu'''n''' ''|| {{IPA|[namuŋaɴmuɴ]}}||'to where?'|| See [[Inuit phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Greenlandic language|Kalaallisut]] || ''paa'''rng'''orpoq'' || {{IPA|[paaɴːoʁpoq]}} || 'crawls' || See [[Inuit phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Klallam language|Klallam]] || ''sqəyáy'''ŋ'''əxʷ'' || {{IPA|[sqəˈjajɴəxʷ]}} || 'big tree' || Contrasts with [[glottalization|glottalized]] form.
|-
| colspan="2" |[[Mapos Buang language|Mapos Buang]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Ḳapiya Tateḳin Buang Vuheng-atov Ayej = Central Buang–English Dictionary.|last=Hooley; Rambok|first=Bruce; Mose Lung|publisher=Summer Institute of Linguistics, Papua New Guinea Branch.|year=2010|isbn=978-9980035899}}</ref>
|''alu'''nġ'''''
|[aˈl̪uɴ]
|'widower'
|Phonemic, and contrasts with /ŋ/.
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Bai language|Bai]]
|Enqi dialect<ref name=":4" />
|
|[ɴa˨˩]
|'to walk'
|Phonemic, and contrasts with /ŋ/.
|-
|Luobenzhuo dialect<ref name=":3" />
|我/nò
|[ɴɔ˦˨]
|'I'
|Phonemic, and contrasts with /ŋ/.
|-
|[[Quechuan languages|Quechua]] || Peruvian || {{lang|qu|sunqu}} || {{IPA|[ˈs̠oɴqo]}}|| 'heart' || Allophone of {{IPA|/n/}}.
|-
|colspan=2| [[Spanish language|Spanish]]{{sfnb|Martínez Celdrán|Fernández Planas|Carrera Sabaté|2003|p=258}} || {{lang|es|[[Spanish orthography|e'''n'''juto]]}} || {{IPA|[ẽ̞ɴˈχuto̞]}} || 'shriveled' || Allophone of {{IPA|/n/}}. See [[Spanish phonology]]
|-
|colspan=2| [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]] || {{lang|tkm|jaň}} || {{IPA|[dʒɑɴ]}} || 'bell' || Allophone of /ŋ/ next to back vowels
|-
|colspan=2| [[Japanese language|Japanese]] || {{lang|jpn|日本}} || {{IPA|[ɲihoꜜɴ]}} || 'Japan' || One of various utterance-final realizations of /N/, the [[Japanese phonology#Moraic_nasal|moraic nasal]]
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Yanyuwa language|Yanyuwa]]{{sfnp|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|pp=34-35}} || ''wa'''ng'''ulu'' || {{IPA|[waŋ̠ulu]}} || 'adolescent boy' || Pre-uvular; contrasts with post-palatal {{IPAblink|ŋ˖}}.{{sfnp|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|pp=34-35}}
|}

==See also==
* [[Index of phonetics articles]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{SOWL}}
*{{citation
|last=Maekawa
|first=Kikuo
|year=2021
|title=Production of the utterance-final moraic nasal in Japanese: A real-time MRI study
|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
|pages=1–24
|doi=10.1017/S0025100321000050
|doi-access=free
}}
*{{Citation
|last1=Martínez Celdrán
|first1=Eugenio 
|last2=Fernández Planas
|first2=Ana Ma.
|last3=Carrera Sabaté
|first3=Josefina 
|year=2003
|title=Castilian Spanish
|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
|volume=33
|issue=2
|pages=255–259
|doi=10.1017/S0025100303001373
|url=https://www.academia.edu/11365507
|doi-access=free
}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{phoible|ɴ}}

{{IPA navigation}}

[[Category:Uvular consonants]]
[[Category:Nasal consonants]]
[[Category:Pulmonic consonants]]
[[Category:Voiced consonants]]