Voiced bilabial nasal

"Bilabial nasal" redirects here. For the voiceless consonant, see Voiceless bilabial nasal.

Voiced bilabial nasal
m
IPA number	114
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Entity (decimal)	m
Unicode (hex)	U+006D
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A voiced bilabial nasal is a type of consonantal sound which has been observed to occur in about 96% of spoken languages.^[1] The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨m⟩. The bilabial nasal occurs in English, and it is the sound represented by "m" in map and rum. Very few languages (e.g. Wyandot) are known to lack this sound. A small number of languages have been observed to lack independent nasal phonemes altogether, such as Quileute, Makah, and Central Rotokas.^[2]

Features

Sagittal section of a voiced bilabial nasal

Features of a voiced bilabial nasal:

• Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Because the consonant is also nasal, the blocked airflow is redirected through the nose.
• Its place of articulation is bilabial, which means it is articulated with both lips.
• Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
• It is a nasal consonant, which means air is exclusively allowed to escape through the nose for nasal stops; otherwise, in addition to through the mouth.
• Because the sound is not produced with airflow over the tongue, the median–lateral dichotomy does not apply.
• Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most speech sounds.

Occurrence

Occurrence of /m/ in several languages.

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
ǃKung		m	[m]	'eat'
Adyghe		мазэ / māză	[maːza]^ⓘ	'moon'
Arabic	Standard[3]	مركز (markaz)	[ˈmɑ̝ɾ.kæz]^ⓘ	'capital'	See Arabic phonology
Armenian	Eastern[4]	մայր (mayr)	[mɑjɾ]^ⓘ	'mother'
Assyrian		ܡܪܐ (mara)	[maːra]	'owner'
Basque		maitatu	[majt̪at̪u]^ⓘ	'to love'
Bengali		মাতা (mata)	[ˈmat̪aˑ]^ⓘ	'mother'	See Bengali phonology
Breton		mor	[mor]	'sea'
Bulgarian		мъгла (mygla)	[mɐˈɡwa]^ⓘ	'fog'
Burushaski		akhuruman	[akʰuruman]	'so many'
Catalan[5]		meu	[ˈmew]	'mine'	See Catalan phonology
Cherokee		ᎠᎹ (ama)	[ama˦]	'water'
Cantonese		貓 / 猫 (māau)	[maːu̯˥]^ⓘ	'cat'	See Cantonese phonology
Chukchi		Mанэгран	[maneɣɻan]	'tent'
Chuvash		манăн (manën)	[manən]	'my'
Czech		muž	[muʃ]^ⓘ	'man'	See Czech phonology
Dutch[6]		mond	[mɔnt]^ⓘ	'mouth'	See Dutch phonology
Dhivehi		mas	[mas̪]	'fish'	See Dhivehi phonology
English		map	[ˈmæpʰ]^ⓘ	'map'	See English phonology
Esperanto		mateno	[maˈteno]^ⓘ	'morning'	See Esperanto phonology
Estonian		madu	[ˈmɑtu̞]^ⓘ	'snake'	See Estonian phonology
Filipino		manok	[mɐˈnɔʔk]^ⓘ	'chicken'	See Filipino phonology
Finnish		mies	[ˈmie̞s̠]^ⓘ	'man'	See Finnish phonology
French[7]		mère	[mɛːʁ]^ⓘ	'mother'	See French phonology
Georgian[8]		სამი (sami)	[ˈsami̞]^ⓘ	'three'	See Georgian phonology
German		Maus	[maʊ̯s]^ⓘ	'mouse'	See Standard German phonology
Greek[9]		μάζα (maza)	[ˈmaza]^ⓘ	'clump'	See Modern Greek phonology
Gujarati		મોર (mór)	[moːɾ]	'male peacock'	See Gujarati phonology
Hawaiian[10]		maka	[maka]	'eye'	See Hawaiian phonology
Hmong	White Hmong	𖬒𖬶𖬦 (mov)	[mo˨˦]	'food' or 'rice'
Hindi		मछली (machlī)	[mɐt͡ʃʰ.liː]^ⓘ	'honey'	See Hindi-Urdu phonology
Hebrew		אמא (ima)	[ˈʔimäʔ]	'mother'	See Modern Hebrew phonology
Hungarian		ma	[mɒ]^ⓘ	'today'	See Hungarian phonology
Indonesian[11]		masuk	[ˈmäsʊʔ]	'enter'
Italian[12]		mamma	[ˈmamma]^ⓘ	'mommy'	See Italian phonology
Japanese[13]		マーク (maku)	[mäkɯ]	'mark'	See Japanese phonology
Kabardian		мазэ (mazè)	[maːza]	'moon'
Kagayanen[14]		manang	[manaŋ]	'older sister'
Kazakh		кеме / keme	[keme]	'ship'	See Kazakh phonology
Ket		qīm-n-diŋa	[qim n diŋa]	'woman'	See Ket language
Khmer		ខ្មែរ (khmae)	[kʰmae]^ⓘ	'Khmer'	See Khmer phonology
Korean		섬 / seom	[sʰʌ̹m]^ⓘ	'straw sack'	See Korean phonology
Kurukh		aḍḍō-mekhō	[aɖɖo mekʰo]	'cattle'
Lak		лакку маз (lakku maz)	[lakːu maz]	'Lak'	See Lak language
Limburgish		de moan	[mɒ̌ːn]^ⓘ	'the moon'	See Limburgish#Phonology
Macedonian		мајка (majka)	[ˈmajka]^ⓘ	'mother'	See Macedonian phonology
Malay		malam	[mɐlɐm]^ⓘ	'night'
Malayalam[15]		കമ്മി (kammi)	[kɐmmi]^ⓘ	'shortage'	See Malayalam phonology
Maltese		mimmi	[mɪmːɪ]^ⓘ	'pupil'
Mandarin		貓 / 猫 (māo)	[mɑʊ̯˥]^ⓘ	'cat'	See Mandarin phonology
Marathi		मन (mën)	[mən]^ⓘ	'mind'	See Marathi phonology
Mutsun		muruṭ	[muɾuʈ]	'night'
Nepali		आमा (āmā)	[ämä]	'mother'	See Nepali phonology
Norwegian		mamma	[ˈmɑ̂mːɑ]^ⓘ	'mom'	See Norwegian phonology
Ojibwe		ᐊᓈᒥᒻ (anaamim)	[ənaːˈmɪm]	'accuse'	See Ojibwe phonology
Odia		ମା (mä)	[mäː]^ⓘ	'mother'
Persian		مادر (madär)	[mɒːˈdæːr]^ⓘ	'mother'	See Persian phonology
Pirahã		baíxi	[ˈmàí̯ʔì]	'parent'	allophone of /b/
Polish[16]		masa	[ˈmäsä]^ⓘ	'mass'	See Polish phonology
Portuguese[17]		mato	[ˈmatu]^ⓘ	'bush'	See Portuguese phonology
Punjabi		ਮੈਂ (mēm̐)	[mɛ̃ː]^ⓘ	'I'
Sanskrit		अहम् (aham)	[ähäm]^ⓘ	'I'	See Sanskrit phonology
Serbo-Croatian[18]		море / more	[môːɾɛ]^ⓘ	'sea'	See Serbo-Croatian phonology
Slovak		muž	[muʂ]^ⓘ	'man'
Slovene		miš	[mîʃ]	'mouse'
Spanish[19]		mamar	[maˈmaɾ]^ⓘ	'to suckle'	See Spanish phonology
Swahili		miti	[ˈmiti]^ⓘ	'trees'
Swedish		en mamma	[ˈmâmːa]^ⓘ	'a mom'	See Swedish phonology
Telugu		మబ్బు (mabbu)	[mabːu]^ⓘ	'cloud'	Occurs as allophone of anuswara when followed by retroflex stops
Thai		เมรุมาศ (merúmâat)	[meː˧ɾ̞u˦˥maːt̚˥˩]^ⓘ	'royal crematory structure [th]'	See Thai phonology
Toki Pona		mama	[ˈmama]^ⓘ	'parent'
Tsez		мец (mec)	[mɛ̝t͡s]	'tongue'
Turkish		cuma	[d͡ʒumɑ̈ː]^ⓘ	'Friday'	See Turkish phonology
Ukrainian[20]		молоко (moloko)	[moɫoˈkʊ̯ɔ]^ⓘ	'milk'	See Ukrainian phonology
Urdu		نعم (magar)	[məɣəɾ]^ⓘ	'house'	See Hindi-Urdu phonology
Uyghur		مەن (män)	[mæn]	'I'
Uzbek		men	[men]	'I'
Vietnamese[21]		muối	[mwojˀ˧˥]^ⓘ	'salt'	See Vietnamese phonology
Welsh		mam	[mam]^ⓘ	'mother'	See Welsh phonology
West Frisian		mar	[mar]	'lake'	See West Frisian phonology
Yi		ꂷ (ma)	[ma˧]	'bamboo'
Zapotec	Tilquiapan[22]	man	[maŋ]	'animal'

Palatalized

Occurrence of /mʲ/ in several languages.

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Bulgarian[23]		мя́сто (mästo)	[mʲa̟sto]^ⓘ	'place'	Contrasts with /m/. See Bulgarian phonology
Irish		mé	[mʲeː]	'I'	Contrasts with /mˠ/. See Irish phonology
Kildin Saami[24]		ме̄рр (mʹērr)	[mʲerː]	'sea'	Kildin Saami contrasts varieties of bilabial nasals in voicedness, length and palatalization.[24]
Latgalian[25]		miļti	[mʲilʲtʲi]	'flour'	Contrasts with /m/.[25] See Latgalian phonology
Lithuanian		merkti	[ˈmʲæ̂ˑɾʲktʲɪ]^ⓘ	'to close one's eyes'	Contrasts with /m/. See Lithuanian phonology
Marshallese[26]		emān	[ɛmʲænʲ]	'four'	Contrasts with /mˠ/.[26]
Nenets	Tundra Nenets[27]	мяˮ/ḿaq	[mʲɑ][28]	'tent'	Contrasts with /m/.[27]
	Forest Nenets[27]	миԓи		'lived'
Russian		медь (měď)	[mʲetʲ]^ⓘ	'copper'	Contrasts with /m/. See Russian phonology
Veps[29]		nem'	[nemʲ]	'peninsula'	Contrasts with /m/.[29]

Velarized

Occurrence of /mˠ/ in several languages.

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Gilbertese[30]		mwe	[mˠe]	'sleep'	Contrasts with /m/ and /mː/.
Irish		má	[mˠɑː]	'if'	Contrasts with /mʲ/. See Irish phonology
Lithuanian[31]		mama	[ˈmˠɐmˠɐ]	'mom'	Transcribed /m/. Contrasts with /mʲ/.[32] See Lithuanian phonology
Marshallese[26]		m̧winam̧ōn	[mˠinʲɑmˠʌnʲ]	'caterpillar'	Contrasts with /mʲ/.[26]
Russian[33]		муж (muž)	[mˠuʂ]^ⓘ	'husband'	Broadly marked with either velarisation, uvularisation or pharyngealisation.[34][35] Contrasts with palatalized version. See Russian phonology

See also

• List of phonetics topics

Notes

1. "Segments - m". PHOIBLE. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
2. Ian Maddieson (2009). "Nasals and Nasalization: Revisiting universals". Nasal 2009. Wikidata Q115902630.
3. Thelwall (1990), p. 37.
4. Dum-Tragut (2009), p. 19.
5. Carbonell & Llisterri (1992), p. 53.
6. Gussenhoven (1992), p. 45.
7. Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.
8. Shosted & Chikovani (2006), p. 255.
9. Newton (1972), p. 10.
10. Ladefoged (2005), p. 139.
11. Soderberg & Olson (2008), p. 210.
12. Rogers & d'Arcangeli (2004), p. 117.
13. Okada (1999), p. 117.
14. Olson et al. (2010), pp. 206–207.
15. Ladefoged (2005), p. 165.
16. Jassem (2003), p. 103.
17. Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
18. Landau et al. (1999), p. 67.
19. Martínez-Celdrán, Fernández-Planas & Carrera-Sabaté (2003), p. 255.
20. Danyenko & Vakulenko (1995), p. 4.
21. Thompson (1959), pp. 458–461.
22. Merrill (2008), p. 108.
23. Klagstad (1958), p. 48.
24. Rießler (2022), p. 222.
25. Nau (2011), p. 12, 14.
26. Choi (1992), p. 14.
27. Burkova (2022), p. 680.
28. Burkova (2022), p. 681.
29. Grünthal (2022), p. 294.
30. Trussel & Groves (1978).
31. Ambrazas et al. (1997), pp. 15, 36.
32. Ambrazas et al. (1997), pp. 35–6.
33. Padgett (2003), p. 42.
34. Roon & Whalen (2019).
35. Padgett et al. (2024).

References

• Ambrazas, Vytautas; Geniušienė, Emma; Girdenis, Aleksas; Sližienė, Nijolė; Valeckienė, Adelė; Valiulytė, Elena; Tekorienė, Dalija; Pažūsis, Lionginas (1997), Ambrazas, Vytautas (ed.), Lithuanian Grammar, Vilnius: Institute of the Lithuanian Language, ISBN 9986-813-22-0
• Burkova, Svetlana (2022), "Nenets", The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages, Oxford Guides to the World's Languages (1st ed.), Oxford University Press
• Carbonell, Joan F.; Llisterri, Joaquim (1992), "Catalan", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 22 (1–2): 53–56, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004618, S2CID 249411809
• Choi, John (1992), "Phonetic Underspecification and Target Interpolation: An Acoustic Study of Marshallese Vowel Allophony", Working Papers in Phonetics, 82, Los Angeles: UCLA, retrieved April 23, 2022
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• Danyenko, Andrii; Vakulenko, Serhii (1995), Ukrainian, Lincom Europa, ISBN 978-3-929075-08-3
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• Fougeron, Cecile; Smith, Caroline L (1993), "Illustrations of the IPA:French", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 23 (2): 73–76, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004874, S2CID 249404451
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External links

• List of languages with [m] on PHOIBLE
• List of languages with [mʲ] on PHOIBLE
• List of languages with [mˠ] on PHOIBLE