2023 Volume 27 Issue 1 Pages 13-26
In Miyako Ryukyuan, nasal consonant sequences occur at the beginning of words. One of its dialects, Ikema, features voiceless nasal sounds characterized by frication noise. This study examined the articulation of nasal consonants in Ikema using real-time MRI data from two speakers. The study found that the nasal consonant sequence starting with a voiceless nasal [m̥m] (voiceless [m] followed by voiced [m]) has a larger oral cavity area and that the sequence starting with [n̥n] (voiceless [n] followed by voiced [n]) has a greater degree of velum lowering than their voiced counterparts. Either of these factors could intensify the airflow noise. The tongue position of the word-final /n/ tends to assimilate to that of the preceding vowel, which is a shared feature with standard Japanese, as recently reported.
