no phonemic distinction between nasal and oral vowels, and all vowels are considered phonemically oral.

Some languages contrast oral vowels and nasalized vowels phonemically. Linguists make use of minimal pairs to decide whether or not the nasality is of linguistic importance. In French, for instance, nasal vowels are distinct from oral vowels, and words can differ by the vowel quality. The words beau "beautiful" and bon "good" are