Yes. The back of your tongue touches your soft palate when you pronounce this sound. Another word for soft palate is "velum", which is why the sound is called velar.
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Hey there!How do you make the ŋ sound?Do............. incorrect
Hey there!_How do you make the ŋ sound?_Do ........ correct
I'm not sure how to understand your question. You can only make the sound when the back of your tongue already touches your soft palate. It has to stop the airflow. When your tongue doesn't touch your soft palate, it's impossible to pronounce the sound.
The position of the tip of your tongue doesn't really matter. It doesn't take part in the articulation of the sound. The airflow is stopped by the back of your tongue, so it all goes to your nose. This is why this velar sound is called nasal. The tip of your tongue takes the most natural position -- it rests on the floor of your mouth.So, can you tell me where the position of the front part of your tongue is when you make that ŋ sound?
The position of the tip of your tongue doesn't really matter. It doesn't take part in the articulation of the sound. The airflow is stopped by the back of your tongue, so it all goes to your nose. This is why this velar sound is called nasal. The tip of your tongue takes the most natural position -- it rests on the floor of your mouth.
I don't know. Can you pronounce /g/?Why would the tip of my tongue move to my hard palate( the roof of my mouth) when I try making the ŋ sound?
I don't know. Can you pronounce /g/?
I'm guessing you might be doing the the voiced uvular plosive /ɢ/ instead of the voiced velar plosive /ɡ/. When you pronounce the former, your tongue doesn't touch your palate. It touches that little pointy thing called uvula and the sound is articulated there. In the latter, your tongue touches your soft palate, that is velum. Note that only /ɡ/ exists in English. /ɢ/ does not.I can sort of make the g and k sound without really touching my soft palate
Could you quote your book?.
My phonetics book stated that my tongue isnt supposed to make a contact with the roof of my mouth.
It might help us consider your problem if you told us your native language. You give it as Latin, but very few people are brought up from birth speaking that language. Coming from the Holy See, you may well speak Latin every day, even in Iceland, but I doubt if it is what linguists generally refer to as a first language.I can sort of make the g and k sound without really touching my soft palate.
TGMWBASTIt could be helpful if you had your real native language in your profile. Perhaps the explanation of your problem lies there.
To get many waffles, Birdeen, ambush Shopkeeper tomorrow.TGMWBAST
To grasp my wit, better avoid silly thoughts.To get many waffles, Birdeen, ambush Shopkeeper tomorrow.
But I don't want any waffles, 5jj! :shock:
;-)
I'm guessing you might be doing the the voiced uvular plosive /ɢ/ instead of the voiced velar plosive /ɡ/. When you pronounce the former, your tongue doesn't touch your palate. It touches that little pointy thing called uvula and the sound is articulated there. In the latter, your tongue touches your soft palate, that is velum. Note that only /ɡ/ exists in English. /ɢ/ does not.
Could you quote your book?
It could be helpful if you had your real native language in your profile. Perhaps the explanation of your problem lies there.
It might help us consider your problem if you told us your native language. You give it as Latin, but very few people are brought up from birth speaking that language. Coming from the Holy See, you may well speak Latin every day, even in Iceland, but I doubt if it is what linguists generally refer to as a first language.
On the other hand, if Latin is your first language, I do not understand why you can only 'sort of' make /g/ and /k/ sounds in the way you describe.
I do not claim to be an expert in either spoken Latin or in Mandarin phonology.well, my native language is mandarin. [...]You know Latin pretty well,huh?
I think this video might help.Hey there! How do you make the ŋ sound? Do you really raise your back of the tongue towards the soft palate before making the ng sound?
I do not claim to be an expert in either spoken Latin or in Mandarin phonology.
However, my memory from my time in China is that the /ŋ/ sound I heard there is very similar to my /ŋ/. My /g/ and /k/ are not exactly the same as the Mandarin equivalents, but the Mandarin sounds are velar. None of my Chinese students had any problems with these sounds.
A little hunting on the internet turned up several interesting sites, including:
inogolo - Pronunciation of Beijing : How to pronounce Beijing
and
Chinese Pronunciation - A, O, E with G, K, H » ChinesePod .
So, I don't really understand your difficulty with the English sounds.
I also do not claim to be an expert in phonetics. However I have looked through the British books on phonetics and phonology I possess (by Abercrombie, Ashby, Collins & Mees, Cruttenden, Gimson, Jones, Ladefoged, O’Connor, Roach and Wells) and can find nothing about the tongue not being supposed to make a contact with the roof of the mouth. Indeed, Gimson’s (my emphasis added) “The primary obstacle to the air-stream is formed by a closure made between the back of the tongue and the soft palate” is fairly typical of what is written about the velars.
It is possible that you have not remembered correctly the words in your book.
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