Nasal emission occurs because of velopharyngeal dysfunction or incompetence such as a cleft palate, a deep pharynx, paralysis, or a motor-speech disorder. Nasal emission can be present when too much air escapes during production of consonants that require a buildup of air (plosives, fricatives, affricates;Kummer, 2006, ¶ 5). Speech can sound distorted since extra air escapes.

Depending on the size of the cleft opening, nasal emission can be very soft and barely audible or very loud and distracting. A larger opening provides little resistance to air escaping and therefore allows the release of air quietly. A smaller opening has more resistance and therefore is more audible. You may hear a “bubbling” from nasal secretions. Secondary effects with nasal emission can include the development of improper compensatory pronunciation habits, usually on pharyngeal or glottal sounds (Kummer, 2006, ¶ 8). The individual may use a very soft voice which uses less breath pressure.

Nasal emission can occur with all pressure-sensitive sounds—glottal stops, nasalized plosives, pharyngeal plosives, pharyngeal fricatives or posterior nasal fricatives, ng/l substitution, and mid-dorsum palatal stops (Kummer, 2001, pp. 6–7). A simple technique to detect nasal emission is to look for the fogging of a mirror held under the nose. You can also hold a straw from the individual’s nose to your ear to detect any nasal emission. Nasal emission does not occur with vowels because these sounds do not require a buildup of air pressure.