French Nasal Vowels

What’s a Nasal Sound?

A nasal sound is a type of speech sound made by allowing the air to flow through the nose while speaking.

Watch Video Explanation

Steps to Identify Nasal Sounds:

• Touch Your Nose and Throat:
  • Nasal Sound (like "m"): Place one finger on your nose and one on your throat. Say the word "mom." You should feel vibrations in both your nose and throat. Your voice will sound muffled because the air can't pass through your nose.
  • Oral Sound (like "b"): Now say the word "bob." You should only feel vibrations in your throat, not your nose. There should be no change because the sound doesn't rely on nasal air flow.

French Nasal Vowels

/ɑ̃/ as in "sans" (without)

Pronunciation: Open your mouth slightly and position your tongue low and toward the back. The sound is similar to the "a" in "father" but nasalized, meaning the air flows through your nose as well as your mouth.

Watch Pronunciation Video

/ɛ̃/ as in "vin" (wine)

Pronunciation: Open your mouth slightly less than for /ɑ̃/ and position your tongue mid-low and towards the front. The sound is similar to the "e" in "bed" but nasalized.

Watch Pronunciation Video

/õ/ as in "nom" (name)

Pronunciation: Round your lips as if you were about to say "oh." Position your tongue in the mid-high back position, similar to where it would be for the vowel sound in "or" or "saw," but without fully closing off the nasal passage, allowing air to resonate in the nasal cavity.

Watch Pronunciation Video

/œ̃/ as in "un" (one)

Pronunciation: Round your lips slightly and position your tongue mid-high and towards the back. It's closer to /œ/ in French, just with nasalization.

Watch Pronunciation Video

Tips for Pronunciation:

• Nasalization: To produce a nasal sound, allow the airflow to pass through both your nose and mouth. You can practice this by blocking your nostrils and feeling the difference when you unblock them.
• Relaxation: Keep your mouth relaxed and allow the sound to resonate in your nasal cavity.
• Practice Words: Practice with words that contain these vowels to get accustomed to the nasalization.

More Resources:

• Introduction to Nasal Vowels a-o-e by LRC Michigan.
• Nasals vowels: [ɛ̃] [ɑ̃] [ɔ̃] [œ̃]by Mel's Class - Learning to speak French in Quebec.
• Les Voyelles Nasales "ON" - "EN" - "AIN" by Alpha B.
• French nasal vowel sounds vs oral vowel sounds.by The Ronckster.

This post in Spanish.