Question

What voicing, place, and manner features describe the consonant /n/?

a) voiceless bilabial fricative
b) voiceless voiced stop
c) voiced alveolar nasal
d) voiced velar stop
e) voiced velar nasal

Answer 1

The consonant /n/ is a voiced alveolar nasal, where vocal cords vibrate, tongue contacts the alveolar ridge, and airflow escapes through the nose.

Step-by-step explanation:

The consonant /n/ is described by three main features: voicing, place, and manner of articulation. Specifically, /n/ is a voiced alveolar nasal. This means that the vocal cords vibrate when producing the sound (voiced), the tongue touches the alveolar ridge located just behind the upper front teeth (alveolar place of articulation), and the airflow is allowed to escape through the nose rather than the mouth (nasal manner of articulation). Therefore, the correct description of the consonant /n/ is voiced alveolar nasal, as indicated in option (c).