orinasal phone

9.9

A sound you make when air flows through both the mouth and the nose, like some French vowels

noun

Specialized

: fono orinasal

French contains several orinasal phones that do not exist in English.

Examples

Linguists analyze orinasal phones to better understand nasalization in languages.
The orinasal phone is crucial for understanding French pronunciation.
The distinction between oral and orinasal phones can be subtle to new learners.
French speakers frequently use the orinasal phone in their language.
French contains several orinasal phones that do not exist in English.
Linguists analyze orinasal phones to better understand nasalization in languages.
The distinction between oral and orinasal phones can be subtle to new learners.

Synonyms

nasal vowel

vsorinasal phone

Specialized

1 7.5

A vowel sound made when air flows through both the nose and the mouth

is broader and applies to any speech sound with oral and nasal passages open

orinasal

vsorinasal phone

Specialized

9.9

A speech sound made when air flows through both the mouth and the nose

is the same meaning but written as a single technical form

Surface Forms

orinasal phone singular

orinasal phones plural

Morphology

orinasal + phone

Both constituents directly contribute to the overall meaning: 'orinasal' denotes use of both oral and nasal passages and 'phone' denotes a speech sound, so a learner who knows both parts can compose them into 'a speech sound produced with both oral and nasal airflow.' Although technical, the compound is fully compositional and parallels exist cross-linguistically, so its meaning is predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Orinasal phone combines the parts oral meaning 'mouth' and nasal meaning 'nose', so imagine saying a sound while air goes through both your mouth and your nose. That's why it means a sound made with both mouth and nose open.