Many of our clients say, "I want work on my English so that it sounds more natural and easy to understand." That can mean working on lots of things, but sometimes it means adjusting voice placement to reduce nasality, which is sometimes described as "talking through your nose" or "having a nasal voice." Let's take a look at what nasality is, why it happens, when you need it, when you don't, and how you can reduce it for clearer vowels and a more pleasant speaking voice.
Quick test: Lightly squeeze your nostrils and produce these words:
Did you feel the expansion and vibration in your nose for n, m, and ng? And the resistance created by your fingers? Those sounds SHOULD be nasalized. The trick is getting nasality just where you want it, and removing or reducing it for the rest!
Fun fact: Close your nostrils and try to say "mom, nun, Ming." If you can say it at all, it will sound very strange.
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Voice placement refers to where your voice resonates in your body when you speak. It is not the same as pitch.
When you have nasal voice placement, the sound vibrates mostly in your nose. This can make your voice sound congested or constricted, and is generally considered by English speakers to be less attractive than a "mouth voice" or a “chest voice.”
When your voice is overly nasal, it may sound whiny or unclear—especially on vowels, and that can result in:
When you have oral placement: The sound vibrates mainly in your mouth—this is what we aim for in most forms of clear, professional English.
If you have chest placement, you will produce deep, full tones. Watch the video below. But don't worry, you do NOT have to sound like the late, great James Earl Jones. Oral voice placement will be just fine.
Have you ever wondered how your body shapes different speech sounds? One key player is the velum, also known as the soft palate. This small but powerful part of your mouth acts like a gatekeeper, directing the flow of air either through your mouth or your nose—and in doing so, it helps create the sounds of spoken language.
When you make most sounds, such as [b], [p], [d], or [t], the velum is in what we can call a "neutral" postion, allowing almost all the air to pass through the oral cavity (your mouth), where it can resonate; and where your tongue, lips, and other articulators can shape it into lovely, clear sounds.
But for sounds like [m], [n], and [ŋ] (as in song), the velum moves down and makes more contact with the back of your tongue. This more or less blocks your oral cavity and creates a path through your nasal cavity (your nose), giving these sounds their distinctive, humming quality.
See if you can feel the velum moving from neutral position (open sounds) to the low position, in contact with the back of your tongue, for the very nasal sound -ing sound by saying: ah-ung, be-ing, ho-hung, so-sung, to-tongue, row-ring, buy-bing. There are more exercises below.
Think of the velum as a valve that switches the airflow on command. Whether it’s neutral or down determines whether a sound is oral or nasal. It's a small movement with a big impact—helping us produce the rich variety of sounds we use every day.
The goal: Feel and hear the difference between mouth and nose resonance.
Find your soft palate with a gentle, clean thumb. Just place your thumb behind your teeth, then run it over the dental ridge, into the arch ("the roof") of your mouth and gently back to the soft palate.
When you yawn, the velum (soft palate) rises—often quite a lot. At the same time, the back of the tongue lowers, and the throat (pharynx) opens up. This creates a wide, open space in the vocal tract, which is part of why yawns feel so expansive and can even sometimes trigger changes in ear pressure. And they just feel good. Try it now.
So, in short:
During a yawn, the velum moves upward.
This upward motion helps open the airway and is similar to what happens when you sing or take a deep breath.
To feel the back of your mouth in action:
Over-nasality is most noticeable on vowels and can reduce intelligibility (=how understandable you are).
Practice these open vowel words clearly, with full mouth resonance. Be sure your lips are engaged and be aware of their postions.
Tip: Record yourself saying them, listen back, and ask, “Is the sound coming mostly from my mouth or my nose?”
Record and review for nasality.
We should be nasal only when producing nasal sounds: /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/. These sounds require airflow through the nose. All other sounds should be oral, not nasal.
Examples of nasal sounds:
The perception of nasality in speech—why it's sometimes considered unpleasant in English but accepted or even admired in French—has to do with cultural expectations, phonetic norms, and aesthetic associations.
Here’s a breakdown:
In English, especially in many native English-speaking cultures (like the US and UK), excessive nasality is often associated with:
In contrast, French has nasal vowels built into the sound system (like in bon, pain, un), and native French speakers often speak with a naturally nasal resonance even when speaking English. In that context, it’s simply part of the French phonetic identity, not a deviation.
In summary, too much nasality is considered unattractive in English because it deviates from the language’s norms and is associated with negative traits like whining or illness. In French, nasality is normal, functional, and culturally accepted—so it doesn’t carry the same negative weight. And when French speakers bring that nasal quality into English, it’s often perceived through the lens of accent appreciation rather than critique.
If nasality persists or you feel blocked, consider working with a voice coach or speech therapist. There may be underlying anatomical or habitual issues that need one-on-one guidance.
You can work with a professional native-speaker trainer and get real-world practice in:
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Authors: Brenda de Jong-Pauley, MA, Director, The English Center and Alexandra Roberts, BA, English teacher.
