example, the final sounds of rum, run, andrungare bilabial, alveolar, and
velar nasals, respectively, formed by stopping the airstream at some place
in the mouth, while letting air continue to flow through the nose. Some
languages, such as French, have nasal vowels as well as consonants. For
example, the vowel of French bon/ bõ / (“good”) is a nasal vowel that
contrasts with the nonnasal vowel /o/ of beau(“beautiful”).nasal cavity n
see vocal tract, place of articulation
nasalization n
a secondary articulation caused by lowering of the soft palate during a
sound in which air is going out through the mouth. For example, the vow-
els in words like beam, bean, and kingare nasalized due to the influence of
the following nasal consonants.
see also assimilation
nasal plosion n
another term for nasal release
nasal release n
the release of a plosive by lowering the soft palate so that air escapes
through the nose, as at the end of the words hidden, kitten, Clinton.
national curriculum in English n
a curriculum for the teaching of English in England and Wales, which
specifies the knowledge, skills and understanding that pupils should have
acquired by the end of four key stages in the period of compulsory educa-
tion (5–16), roughly at the ages of 7, 11, 14, and 16. The curriculum is
divided into three “profile components”: speaking and listening, reading,
and writing. Each profile component consists of one or more “attainment
targets”within which the content of the curriculum is presented as “state-
ments of attainment”at 10 developmental levels.
national language n
a language that has a connection with a country, state, or other territory,
typically the language that is most widely used throughout that territory,
has the most speakers, and is closely associated with national identity. For
example, English is the national language of the US; German is the national
language of Germany; and Bahasa Indonesia is the national language of
Indonesia.
A national language is often also the official languageof a state, a language
given special legal status in its constitution or through specific laws and
national language