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Glite Dictionary
nasal twang

nasal twang

1 7.9
A strong voice sound made through the nose common in some accents
  • noun
  • /ˈneɪzəl twæŋ/
translation icon : entonación nasal
  • Her nasal twang reminded me of the accents I heard while visiting the Southern states.

Examples

  • Andy asked, and he said in that flat nasal twang that would have been at home in Texas or Arkansas:

    Fiction book (1994)

  • His voice had a distinct nasal twang that made his speech easily recognizable.

  • The comedian's act included a funny impression of a person with a strong nasal twang.

Synonyms

twang
vsnasal twang
7 7.9

A speech sound that comes through the nose and shows a regional accent

is more specifically marked and characteristic of certain regional accents
nasality
vsnasal twang
  • Specialized
1 7.2

A voice sound that comes through the nose

is a more specific and exaggerated regional form of that general quality

How Nasal

nasal twang
1 7.9
nasality
  • Specialized
1 7.2

Surface Forms

nasal twang singular
nasal twangs plural

Morphology

nasal + twang

The meaning is directly built from 'nasal' (relating to the nose/voice resonance) modifying 'twang' (a nasal/regional voice quality); together they straightforwardly describe a pronounced nasal quality in speech. This compositional combination follows predictable adjective + noun semantics and would be immediately understandable to a learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Nasal twang comes from a simple image: nasal means the sound comes through the nose and twang is like the sharp sound of a plucked string, so the voice sounds as if it is ringing in the nose. That's why a nasal twang describes a way of speaking or an accent that sounds 'nasal' or like the voice is coming through the nose.