Editing Nasal consonant (section)

=={{anchor|Lack}}Languages without nasals==
A few languages, perhaps 2%,<ref>Maddieson, Ian. 2008. Absence of Common Consonants. In: Haspelmath, Martin & Dryer, Matthew S. & Gil, David & Comrie, Bernard (eds.) The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Munich: Max Planck Digital Library, chapter 18. Available online at http://wals.info/feature/18 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601070340/http://wals.info/feature/18 |date=2009-06-01 }}. Accessed on 2008-09-15.</ref> contain no phonemically distinctive nasals. This led Ferguson (1963) to assume that all languages have at least one primary nasal occlusive. However, there are exceptions.

===Lack of phonemic nasals===
When a language is claimed to lack nasals altogether, as with several [[Niger–Congo languages]]<ref group=note>These languages lie in a band from western Liberia to southeastern Nigeria, and north to southern Burkina Faso. They include:
*Liberia: Kpelle (Mande); Grebo, Klao (Kru)
*Burkina Faso: Bwamu (Gur)
*Ivory Coast: Dan, Guro-Yaoure, Wan-Mwan, Gban/Gagu, Tura (Mande); Senadi/Senufo (Gur); Nyabwa, Wè (Kru); Ebrié, Avikam, Abure (Kwa)
*Ghana: Abron, Akan, Ewe (Kwa)
*Benin: Gen, Fon (Kwa)
*Nigeria: Mbaise Igbo, Ikwere (Igboid)
*CAR: Yakoma (Ubangi)
(Heine & Nurse, eds, 2008, ''A Linguistic Geography of Africa'', p.46)</ref> or the [[Pirahã language]] of the Amazon, nasal and non-nasal or prenasalized consonants usually alternate [[Allophone|allophonically]], and it is a theoretical claim on the part of the individual linguist that the nasal is not the basic form of the consonant. In the case of some Niger–Congo languages, for example, nasals occur before only nasal vowels. Since nasal vowels are phonemic, it simplifies the picture somewhat to assume that nasalization in occlusives is allophonic. There is then a second step in claiming that nasal vowels nasalize oral occlusives, rather than oral vowels denasalizing nasal occlusives, that is, whether {{IPA|[mã, mba]}} are phonemically {{IPA|/mbã, mba/}} without full nasals, or {{IPA|/mã, ma/}} without prenasalized stops. Postulating underlying oral or prenasalized stops rather than true nasals helps to explain the apparent instability of nasal correspondences throughout Niger–Congo compared with, for example, Indo-European.<ref>As noted by [[Kay Williamson]] ([http://www.ethnologue.com/show_work.asp?id=22387 1989:24]).</ref>

This analysis comes at the expense, in some languages, of postulating either a single nasal consonant that can only be syllabic, or a larger set of nasal vowels than oral vowels, both typologically odd situations. The way such a situation could develop is illustrated by a [[Jukunoid language]], [[Wukari language|Wukari]]. Wukari allows oral vowels in syllables like ''ba, mba'' and nasal vowels in ''bã, mã'', suggesting that nasals become prenasalized stops before oral vowels. Historically, however, *mb became **mm before nasal vowels, and then reduced to *m, leaving the current asymmetric distribution.<ref>Larry Hyman, 1975. "Nasal states and nasal processes." In ''Nasalfest: Papers from a Symposium on Nasals and Nasalization,'' pp. 249–264</ref>

In older speakers of the [[Tlingit language]], {{IPA|[l]}} and {{IPA|[n]}} are allophones. Tlingit is usually described as having an unusual, perhaps unique lack of {{IPA|/l/}} despite having five [[lateral consonant|lateral obstruents]]; the older generation could be argued to have {{IPA|/l/}} but at the expense of having no nasals.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}}

===Lack of phonetic nasals===
Several of languages surrounding [[Puget Sound]], such as [[Quileute language|Quileute]] (Chimakuan family), [[Lushootseed]] (Salishan family), and [[Makah language|Makah]] (Wakashan family), are truly without any nasalization whatsoever, in consonants or vowels, except in special speech registers such as [[baby talk]] or the archaic speech of mythological figures (and perhaps not even that in the case of Quileute). This is an [[areal feature]], only a few hundred years old, where nasals became voiced stops ({{IPA|[m]}} became {{IPA|[b]}}, {{IPA|[n]}} became {{IPA|[d]}}, {{IPA|[ɳ]}} became {{IPA|[ɖ]}}, {{IPA|[ɲ]}} became {{IPA|[ɟ]}}, {{IPA|[ŋ]}} became {{IPA|[g]}}, {{IPA|[ŋʷ]}} became {{IPA|[gʷ]}}, {{IPA|[ɴ]}} became {{IPA|[ɢ]}}, etc.) after colonial contact. For example, "Snohomish" is currently pronounced ''sdohobish'', but was transcribed with nasals in the first English-language records.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

The only other places in the world where this is known to occur are in Melanesia. In the central dialect of the [[Rotokas language]] of Bougainville Island, nasals are only used when imitating foreign accents. (A second dialect has a series of nasals.) The [[Lakes Plain languages]] of West Irian are similar.

The  unconditioned loss of nasals, as in Puget Sound, is unusual. Currently in [[Korean language|Korean]], {{IPA|/m/}} and {{IPA|/n/}} are shifting to {{IPA|[b]}} and {{IPA|[d]}}, but only word-initially. This started out in nonstandard dialects and was restricted to the beginning of prosodic units (a common position for [[fortition]]), but has expanded to many speakers of the standard language to the beginnings of common words even within prosodic units.<ref>Yoshida, Kenji, 2008. "Phonetic implementation of Korean 'denasalization' and its variation related to prosody". IULC Working Papers, vol. 6.</ref>