Abstract

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Title:: An Analysis of Sound Nasality on Sonorants in Nanjing Dialect：TheEssence of the Confusion between /n / and / l /

Keywords:: Nanjing dialect; initials; nasality contrast; vowels; intrinsic nasality

Abstract:: Using the Nasometer，we studied the nasality contrast of voiced initials and the intrinsic nasality ofseven cardinal vowels in Nanjing dialect. The results show that the nasality contrast degree of initial consonantsis high. The intrinsic nasality of vowels is closely related to the position of the tongue. The lower and morefront the tongue is，the greater the degree of nasalization；the higher and more back the tongue is，the lower thedegree of nasalization，and vice versa. The nasals and non-nasals have their own critical nasality values，wherethere is a gap between nasals and non-nasals，and the nasalized vowels lie in the gap. The consonants ［n］ and［l］ are actually two conditioned variants of the same phoneme，and the nasalized liquid ［n ］ is produced in theprocess of the integration of the two sounds.