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Classwork Series and Exercises {English Language – SS2}: Nasal Consonants and Relative Clause

English Language SS2

Week 5

Contents:

Nasal Consonants

Skill Focus: How to Access the Internet

Word Structure: Relative Clause

A. Nasal Consonants

Nasals are consonants that are formed by blocking the oral passage and allowing the air to escape through the nose. Present-Day English has three nasals, all of which are voiced (vocal cords vibrating during the articulation of the nasal). (The nasals, the lateral /l/, the retroflex /r/, and the semivowels /w/ and /j/ are sometimes called the resonants.) A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to come out through the nose, while the air is not allowed to pass through the mouth because something (like the tongue or the lips) is stopping it.

Two major things to be noted:

  1. The air is completely blocked from leaving the mouth, and is instead released out through the nose
  2. All three nasal sounds are voiced, meaning that the vocal cords vibrate during the creation of the sound

A subtle aspect of the n sound to be aware and attempt mastery of is: The n sound can become syllabic consonant on unstressed syllables.

1. /m/ (the phoneme spelled m in mail): (voiced) bilabial nasal.
2. /n/ (the phoneme spelled n in nail): (voiced) alveolar nasal.
3. /ŋ/ (the phoneme spelled ng in sing): (voiced) velar nasal.

The M consonant sound

The M consonant sound (/m/) is made by lightly pressing your lips together while making the sound with your vocal chords.  Although most of the air moves over your soft palate, some air moves through the nose, and it feels like it is vibrating through your nasal passage. This is why the M consonant is referred to as a nasal sound.

/m/ – mom, mouth, miss, may.

The N consonant sound

The N consonant sound (/n/) is made by moving air through the nasal passage. Your lips will be slightly parted. The tongue touches the roof your mouth just behind your teeth. You should feel a vibration in your nose.

/n/ – tiny, ten, nine, not

The ng consonant sound

You can’t study the N sound without also studying the ng sound (/ŋ/). This is the third nasal sound in English. It is also produced by moving air through your nasal passage, but the tongue placement is different than the N sound. Your tongue is raised and further back in your mouth.

/ŋ/ – sing, ring, bringing, long.

B. Skill Focus: How to Access the Internet

To access the internet (often called net), you need a computer or a mobile device. If you are using a computer, you will also need a modem. A MODEM is a device for converting the digital information stored on a machine into an audio signal that can be sent down a telephone line or by wireless. Many computers these days have an internal modem i.e. the modem is already installed in the computer. You also need a software program called a Web Browser to give you access to the net. Usually this will mean either microsoft’s browser called Internet Explorer or Moxilla Firefox called Navigator. Using the browser, you connect to the internet through an ISP (an Internet Service Provider).

The Four Stages needed to Access the Internet

1. Open your web browser,  e.g. Moxilla firefox or Google chrome, you may do this by clicking on the icon on your computer’s desktop screen.

2. Use your browser to log on to your ISP  ( usually a dial up connection box will appear and you click on ‘connect’ to initiate your modem.

3. Once connected, enter the target website address, e.g. passnownow.com into the address box.

4. Press ‘return’ on your keyboard and wait for the page to load.

The Internet is the vast depository of information. It contains billions of pages of information, and to find exactly what you are looking for can be like looking for a needle in several haystacks. There are various search tools that can be used to search for information and they come at no cost at all to the user. Those widely used are Google (www.google.com), Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com), Yahoo (www.yahoo.com).

Many people go straight to search engines such as Google or Yahoo. For example, suppose that you want to find information about Wole Soyinka, just type the key words Wole Soyinka into the search box and click on search button. The result will display several lists of entries which are in a way related to the key words you typed. Then you can click on the items listed, i.e. the one which that seem most promising  and find what they can offer. You can always refine your search and go through the process again.

C. Word Structure: Relative Clause

A Relative clause is never a complete statement as it is a dependent clause. It tells us something extra about the noun that it describes. The position of the noun is immediately before the relative clause. The relative clause is introduced by a relative pronoun, which is one of the following: that, which, who, whom, whose.

Example: My old niece bought a car.
Let us have additional information about my old niece.
  • My old niece bought a new car. She also has a house at Ajah
We can now use a relative clause to combine the two sentences.
  • My old niece who has a house at Ajah bought a new car.
As the relative pronoun always replaces a noun or pronoun, we have used the relative pronoun who to replace the pronoun she in the last sentence above.
  • Not: My old niece who has a house at Ajah she also bought a new car.
As mentioned above, the noun niece is positioned immediately before the relative clause who has a house at Ajah  which is introduced by the relative pronoun who. Niece is a person so we use who. We use the pronouns who and that for people.
  • There is my old niece  that has a house in Ajah, who also bought a new car.

We do not use that for a name or a nonrestrictive (non-defining) clause. A restrictive clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence while a nonrestrictive clause is not. We can remove a nonrestrictive clause from a sentence without affecting its meaning. We can’t do that with the restrictive clause.

Not for a name
  • My uncle is Mr Lawson who has three kids.
  • Not: My uncle is Mr Lawson that has three kids.
Not for a nonrestrictive clause
  • The nail that pierced his ear nearly deafened him. (Restrictive clause)
  • Not: The nail, which pierced his ear, nearly deafened him.
  • The ingredients, which I bought this morning, was used for baking. (Nonrestrictive clause)
  • Not: The ingredients, that I bought this morning, was used for baking.

 Whom is used for people

We use the relative pronoun whom for people when the object of the verb follows it. Even though whom is the object of the clause, it comes at the beginning of the relative clause just like the other relative pronouns which are subjects of the clause.
  • The deceased was a neighbour whom I had an argument with last week.

 We often omit a relative pronoun, especially in speech when it is the object of the relative clause.

  • The one thousand dollars, which he won in a lottery, lasted only a week.
    The one thousand dollars he won in a lottery lasted only a week.
But we cannot omit a relative pronoun when it is the subject of the relative clause.
  • The tooth that caused him toothache the whole night has been extracted.
    Not: The tooth caused him toothache the whole night has been extracted.
  • The fire, which burnt down the row of wooden houses, was started from a cigarette butt.
    Not: The fire burnt down the row of wooden houses was started from a cigarette butt.

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