Which manner of articulation involves sound passing through the nose, as demonstrated by pinching your nose and saying the sound /m/?

The correct answer is based on the understanding that nasal sounds are produced by allowing air to flow out through the nose while the mouth is closed. When you pinch your nose and produce the sound /m/, you can feel that the sound emanates primarily from the nasal cavity rather than the mouth. This is a characteristic of nasal articulations, such as /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/.

Nasal sounds are crucial in phonetics and language, as they contribute to distinguishing between various phonemes. The formation of these sounds involves specific positioning of the tongue and lips while the velum (the back part of the roof of the mouth) is lowered to let the air escape through the nose.

In contrast, fricatives involve constricting airflow such that it creates friction in the vocal tract. Glides are produced with a more open vocal tract, allowing for a smooth transition between sounds. Liquids, like the sounds /l/ and /r/, have their unique articulation patterns but do not involve nasal airflow. The identification of the nasal manner of articulation is thus clear and distinct from these other categories, reaffirming that the option related to sound passing through the nose, like /m/, is indeed nasal.