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Vowel nasalization
quickinfo

The sequence of an oral vowel + the coronal nasal /n/ is turned into a nasal vowel when preceding one of the consonants /f,v,s,z,r,l,j,w/. See the Vowel Nasalization Scheme below and the examples in (1):

Table 1
Vowel Nasalization Scheme
vowel + /n/ + /f,v,s,z,r,l,j,w/
⇒ nasal vowel + /f,v,s,z,r,l,j,w/
1
Examples with the word dyn /din/ 'your'
dyn fyts [dĩ fits] your bicycle
dyn wanten [dĩ vɔntn̩] your gloves
dyn suster [dĩ søstr̩] your sister
dyn rêch [dĩ rɛ:x] your back
dyn ljedder [dĩ ljɛdr̩] your ladder
dyn jas [dĩ jɔs] your coat
dyn huodden [dĩ wodn̩] your hats

The nasal consonant /n/ disappears while its nasality is carried over to the vowel. In underlying representation, the feature [nasal] is restricted to consonants in Frisian, so a nasalized vowel is articulated 'in a consonantal way'. But it maintains the function which is typical of vowels, that of syllable head. A nasalized vowel therefore is a kind of 'compromise' between vowel and /n/. This Vowel Nasalization is one of the most general phonological processes of Frisian.

extra

Though vowel nasalization is one of the most general phonological processes of Frisian, there are some exceptions, all of them loanwords. Examples are kwintessens [kwɪntəsɛns] quintessence, menza [mɛnza] university restaurant, monstrum [monstrəm] monstrosity, sensor [sɛnzɔr] sensor, sjans (hawwe) [sjans] be given the come-on, transformator [transfɔrma:tɔr] transformer, transport [transpɔrt] (and more words with trans- as their left-hand part).

extra

The Frisian dialects and the mixed Dutch-Frisian dialects all have vowel nasalization, in much the same vein as Frisian. In not having it, the Frisian dialect of the island of Schiermonnikoog is a striking exception.

References
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