Example Languages
Languages that use phonemic nasal vowels include, among others:
- Austro-Bavarian
- Breton
- Bengali
- Cherokee
- Choctaw
- Elfdalian
- French (see French phonology#Nasal vowels)
- Gbe languages
- Gheg Albanian
- Guaraní
- Gujarati
- Haitian Creole
- Hindi
- Hmong
- Irish
- Mandarin Chinese (see Erhua, e.g. (simplified Chinese: 棒儿; traditional Chinese: 棒兒; pinyin: bàngr), (simplified Chinese: 蜂儿; traditional Chinese: 蜂兒; pinyin: fēngr))
- Min Nan (including Taiwanese)
- Mirandese
- Mohawk
- Navajo
- Nepali
- Nheengatu
- Paicî (an unusually large number of nasal vowels)
- Polish (most dialects, including Kashubian)
- Portuguese
- Punjabi
- Tamil (modern colloquial Tamil only; literal Tamil uses oral-vowel plus nasal-stop sequences instead)
- Telugu
- Urdu
- Vietnamese
- Yélî Dnye (an unusually large number of nasal vowels)
- Yorùbá
Read more about this topic: Nasal Vowel
Famous quotes containing the word languages:
“People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)
“Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those languages, or we remain mute.”
—J.G. (James Graham)