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How are nasal consonants such as /m/, /n/, and /ng/ produced?

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Diagram of a human head in profile showing the location of vocal organs and possible places of articulation for speech sounds, with labels for lips, teeth, tongue, palate, uvula, pharynx, and vocal cords, and numbered regions corresponding to types of articulation such as bilabial, alveolar, and velar.
phonetics Diagram depicting the location of human vocal organs and possible places of articulation used for speech.

Nasal consonants, such as /m/, /n/, and /ng/, are produced through a specific configuration of the vocal tract involving the soft palate and oral articulators.1

To produce these sounds, the following process occurs:

  • Velic Opening: The soft palate (velum) is lowered, which opens the nasal passage and allows the airstream to pass through the nose.12
  • Oral Occlusion: Simultaneously, the mouth is completely obstructed at some point by the lips or the tongue. This closure prevents air from escaping through the mouth, forcing the entire airstream to be expelled through the nasal tract.1

Because the oral tract is blocked while the nasal tract remains open, these sounds are often classified as nasal stops. This distinguishes them from oral stops, where the soft palate is raised to block the nasal cavity, causing air pressure to build up in the mouth before being released.2