Vowel nasalization occurs when a vowel sound is produced with airflow through the nose, resulting in a nasal quality. This phenomenon is common in several languages, including French and Portuguese, where certain vowels become nasalized when adjacent to nasal consonants like m or n. In phonetics, nasalized vowels are often represented with a tilde (~) over the vowel symbol, indicating the nasal quality. This feature can change the meaning of words, making it an important aspect of pronunciation in languages that utilize it. Understanding vowel nasalization is essential for accurate communication in these languages.