Sing Isn't Sin: Keep That Sound in Your Nose

English distinguishes two nasal sounds that can feel very close together: the familiar "n," made with your tongue tip touching behind your top teeth, and the "ng" sound at the end of words like "sing," "long," and "going," made further back with the body of your tongue touching your soft palate. Mixing these up changes the word entirely — "sin" and "sing" become two completely different words to an American listener, even though the difference is just where your tongue lands. Try this: say "n" by itself and notice your tongue tip pressing forward, then say "ng" and notice your tongue pulling back and up, with no tip contact at all. Practice the pair "sin, sing, sin, sing" slowly, exaggerating the back-of-tongue movement for "ng." Then try "ban, bang" and "ran, rang." Two minutes of this contrast today will sharpen your ear and your mouth for one of English's smaller but very meaningful distinctions.