Editing Nasal consonant (section)

===Lack of phonemic nasals===
When a language is claimed to lack nasals altogether, as with several [[Niger–Congo languages]]<ref group=note>These languages lie in a band from western Liberia to southeastern Nigeria, and north to southern Burkina Faso. They include:
*Liberia: Kpelle (Mande); Grebo, Klao (Kru)
*Burkina Faso: Bwamu (Gur)
*Ivory Coast: Dan, Guro-Yaoure, Wan-Mwan, Gban/Gagu, Tura (Mande); Senadi/Senufo (Gur); Nyabwa, Wè (Kru); Ebrié, Avikam, Abure (Kwa)
*Ghana: Abron, Akan, Ewe (Kwa)
*Benin: Gen, Fon (Kwa)
*Nigeria: Mbaise Igbo, Ikwere (Igboid)
*CAR: Yakoma (Ubangi)
(Heine & Nurse, eds, 2008, ''A Linguistic Geography of Africa'', p.46)</ref> or the [[Pirahã language]] of the Amazon, nasal and non-nasal or prenasalized consonants usually alternate [[Allophone|allophonically]], and it is a theoretical claim on the part of the individual linguist that the nasal is not the basic form of the consonant. In the case of some Niger–Congo languages, for example, nasals occur before only nasal vowels. Since nasal vowels are phonemic, it simplifies the picture somewhat to assume that nasalization in occlusives is allophonic. There is then a second step in claiming that nasal vowels nasalize oral occlusives, rather than oral vowels denasalizing nasal occlusives, that is, whether {{IPA|[mã, mba]}} are phonemically {{IPA|/mbã, mba/}} without full nasals, or {{IPA|/mã, ma/}} without prenasalized stops. Postulating underlying oral or prenasalized stops rather than true nasals helps to explain the apparent instability of nasal correspondences throughout Niger–Congo compared with, for example, Indo-European.<ref>As noted by [[Kay Williamson]] ([http://www.ethnologue.com/show_work.asp?id=22387 1989:24]).</ref>

This analysis comes at the expense, in some languages, of postulating either a single nasal consonant that can only be syllabic, or a larger set of nasal vowels than oral vowels, both typologically odd situations. The way such a situation could develop is illustrated by a [[Jukunoid language]], [[Wukari language|Wukari]]. Wukari allows oral vowels in syllables like ''ba, mba'' and nasal vowels in ''bã, mã'', suggesting that nasals become prenasalized stops before oral vowels. Historically, however, *mb became **mm before nasal vowels, and then reduced to *m, leaving the current asymmetric distribution.<ref>Larry Hyman, 1975. "Nasal states and nasal processes." In ''Nasalfest: Papers from a Symposium on Nasals and Nasalization,'' pp. 249–264</ref>

In older speakers of the [[Tlingit language]], {{IPA|[l]}} and {{IPA|[n]}} are allophones. Tlingit is usually described as having an unusual, perhaps unique lack of {{IPA|/l/}} despite having five [[lateral consonant|lateral obstruents]]; the older generation could be argued to have {{IPA|/l/}} but at the expense of having no nasals.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}}