ABSTRACT
In the formation of all kinds of nasal consonants, the air is prevented from issuing through the mouth by a stop at some point: the lowering of the soft palate from the back wall of the throat allows it to issue through the nose. The difference between one nasal consonant and another is in the point at which the mouth passage is stopped. This sound is used in English and German. Europeans find a certain difficulty in pronouncing the combinations of nasal and plosive initially. This is mainly because they do not occur in the mother tongue, but also because of a mistaken idea that it is impossible to pronounce them without a vowel preceding them. It is quite possible and easy to say them without any vowel preceding if the sonorous and continuant nature of the nasal is realized.
