Pronunciation: [nˈe͡ɪzə͡lˌa͡ɪzɪŋ] (IPA) 
The word "nasalizing" is spelled with a "z" instead of an "s" because of the sound it represents. The phonetic transcription for this word is /ˈneɪzəlaɪzɪŋ/, where the "z" sound (/z/) can be heard at the end of the first syllable and the beginning of the second syllable, just before the "i" sound (/ɪ/). This spelling accurately reflects the pronunciation of the word, as the "s" sound would not produce the correct sound.
Nasalizing refers to the phonetic process of altering the sound of a speech sound or phoneme by allowing nasal airflow through the nasal cavity while articulating a corresponding oral sound. It involves the simultaneous production of a nasal and an oral sound. This process typically occurs when a speaker allows air to flow through the nasal cavity while articulating a non-nasal sound, which results in the non-nasal sound being perceived as nasalized.
Nasalization can happen through the lowering of the velum, also known as the soft palate, which allows the air to exit through the nose instead of the mouth during speech production. This change leads to a change in the resonance of the vocal tract, resulting in a nasal quality in the produced sound.
Nasalization is commonly observed in languages that have nasal phonemes, such as the nasal consonants in English (e.g., m, n, ŋ). However, nasalization can also occur in non-nasal sounds, particularly vowels in some languages. For example, French has nasalized vowels (e.g., bon /bɔ̃/), where the velum is lowered to allow nasal airflow during vowel production.
Nasalization can impact the comprehensibility and intelligibility of speech, as it affects the overall quality and distinctiveness of sounds. Phonetically transcribing nasalized sounds often involves using diacritic marks or symbols, such as a tilde (~) or subscript "n" to indicate nasalization.
The word "nasalizing" is derived from the noun "nasal", which comes from the Latin word "nasus", meaning "nose". In English, "nasal" refers to both the nose and sounds produced by the nose. The suffix "-ize" is used to form verbs that mean "to make or become" a certain thing. Thus, "nasalize" means "to make or become nasal". When the suffix "-ing" is added to "nasalize", it forms the present participle form of the verb, creating the word "nasalizing", which describes the ongoing action of making or becoming nasal.
