Literary notes about Nasal (AI summary)
The term "nasal" in literature has been used with a remarkable range of nuance, applied both to characterize vocal qualities and to serve technical or metaphorical purposes. It may evoke a particular voice quality—as seen when characters imitate or are described with a distinctive nasal tone, whether to add humor or underline a personality trait (e.g., [1], [2], [3], [4])—or to capture a musical or acoustic texture, as noted in discussions of instruments or vocal exercises ([5], [6], [7], [8], [9]). Additionally, "nasal" has been employed in more clinical or anatomical contexts, highlighting specific structures or features (for example, in the detailed anatomical references in [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15]). Whether lending a comic or critical edge in fictional settings or contributing to precise scientific description, the usage reflects the word’s versatility in evoking both sound and structure across diverse genres.
- Mose imitated precisely the nasal tones of the old man, tumbling on the floor, to illustrate the supposed catastrophe.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - “That’s just what I am thinking,” he answered in a squeaky, somewhat nasal tenor, taking off his cap.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Mr Dedalus, still crooning and swaying his head, began to sing in a grunting nasal tone:
— from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - “Nowhere,” answered Mr Verloc in a low, choked nasal tone.
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad - There are such words as joy and sorrow, but they are only the burden of a psalm, sung with a nasal twang, while we believe in the ordinary and mean.
— from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau - To develop nasal resonance sing the following, dwelling as long as possible on the ng sounds.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - Pitch the voice in the nasal cavity.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - The lower register of the oboes and bassoons is thick and rough, yet still nasal in quality; the very high compass is shrill, hard and dry.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - The dark, nasal tone of the oboe will prevail in the low register, the bright, "chest" quality of the clarinet in the high compass.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - N nostrils, Na nasal bone, Mx upper jaw, Prf prefrontal, Fr frontal bone, A eye-pits, S temple-pits.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget - n nasal bone, pf frontal bone, l lachrymal bone, po postorbital bone, sq covering bone, i cheek-bone, vo vomer, im inter-maxillary.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget - Even males have a crescent and a dot tattooed on the forehead, the corresponding mark in females being a line from the nasal pit upwards.
— from Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7 by Edgar Thurston - breadth 14.2 15.2 13.3 Do. index 73.3 81.3 68.7 Nasal height 4.7 4.9 4.6 Do. breadth 3.6 3.8 3.4 Do. index 74.9 79.9 70.
— from Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 7 of 7 by Edgar Thurston - nasal mucus, p. 90, note 1 . 163 “Sur l’Ensemble des Choses” (Daremberg).
— from Galen: On the Natural Faculties by Galen - 137 Nasal mucus was supposed to be the non-utilizable part of the nutriment conveyed to the brain, cf.
— from Galen: On the Natural Faculties by Galen