How Do You Spell PALATONASAL?

1. Palatonasal is an adjective used in phonetics and linguistics to describe a certain type of sound produced by the human vocal tract. It refers to a speech sound that is articulated by closing the oral cavity, specifically the tongue against the hard or soft palate, while simultaneously allowing airflow through the nasal cavity. This type of sound combines both the characteristics of an oral and a nasal sound.

   When producing a palatonasal sound, such as [ŋ] in the English word "sing," the soft part of the palate called the velum is lowered, allowing air to pass through the nose while the tongue is raised towards the hard palate, effectively blocking the oral passage. This results in the sound being produced through the nose, hence called a nasally-articulated sound.

   Palatonasal sounds are also known as velar nasals because the velum (or soft palate) is involved in their production. They are classified as consonants because they obstruct the airflow to some extent. In many languages, palatonasal sounds are phonemic, meaning they can differentiate between words. For example, in English, the contrast between "sing" [sɪŋ] and "sin" [sɪn] demonstrates the phonemic distinction of the nasal sound [ŋ].

   Understanding the concept of palatonasal sounds is important in phonetics and linguistics as it helps in analyzing speech sounds, identifying phonemic contrasts, and capturing the diversity of sounds found in various languages around the world.

2. Relating to the palate and the nasal fossae.

   A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.

Common Misspellings for PALATONASAL

The word "palatonasal" is formed from two parts: "palato-" and "-nasal".

1. "Palato-" is derived from the Latin word "palatum", meaning "palate". In anatomy, the palate refers to the roof of the mouth, consisting of the hard palate (the bony front part) and the soft palate (the muscular back part). The prefix "palato-" is commonly used in medical terminology to indicate a relationship with or involvement of the palate.

2. "-Nasal" originates from the Latin word "nasus", meaning "nose". It is derived from the same root as other related terms like "nasal", "nasal cavity", or "nasal bone". "-Nasal" is frequently used in medical language to describe something related to the nose or the passage that connects it to the throat.