Page:The Making of Latin.djvu/35

Rh

§ . sounds are produced when a portion of the current of air is allowed to escape through the nose. The entrance to the nasal passage is above the throat at the back of the mouth; this entrance is closed when the uvula is pressed against the back wall of the throat. When the uvula hangs loose, part of the current escapes through the nose, or the whole current, if the mouth is closed.

§ . If this passage is left open while vowels are being formed, they are given what is called a ‘nasal colour’; this is often heard in some English dialects, especially in America and Canada.

§ . When part of the Voice escapes through the nose during the formation of Voiced Plosives, we get the corresponding Nasals. For instance m is the same sound as b except that part of the Voice escapes through the nose while the contact for b is being made by the lips. m is therefore called ‘the Voiced Labial Nasal.’ n is the Voiced Dental Nasal, and there are also nasal sounds corresponding to the Palatal and Velar Plosives. Both of these latter nasal sounds are commonly denoted in English and in Latin merely by the letter n as in Lat. ingero, unguo, Eng. linger, anguish.

§ . If the humming sound produced by the part of the Voice that escapes through the nose is prolonged enough to make a syllable while the part of the current that is in the mouth is still stopped we get the ‘Nasal Sonants’; for instance m̥, n̥, which are common in English though they are spelt in many ways. Sonant