Ŋ (letter)

Ŋ (lowercase: ŋ) is a letter in the International Phonetic Alphabet. It is a letter in the Latin alphabet. It is used to represent a sound in many languages.

 Sound 
The sound of Ŋ is called a voiced velar nasal.

It is the same sound as the “ng” in the English word “sing.”Robert W. Albright (1958). The International Phonetic Alphabet: Its Backgrounds and Development, Indiana University. p. 11

 Usage 
Many languages use the letter ŋ in their alphabets. 

Some examples include English. The letter is not used in usual English spelling, but the sound is common. For example, in “sing,” “long,” and “song.” 

A group of languages spoken by the Sami people in Northern Europe.

Inuit: Languages spoken by the Inuit people in the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska.

Several African languages, such as Wolof and Bambara, use the letter ŋ.

 Appearance 
When it is uppercase, it looks like Ŋ. When the letter is lowercase, it looks like ŋ.

The lowercase letter looks like an “n” with a long right leg that goes to the left.

 History 
The letter ŋ was first used in the 19th century by Danish Linguist Rasmus Rask.

It was later put into the International Phonetic Alphabet to show the voiced velar nasal sound.

 References 

Category:Latin letters with diacritics