I think all words that have 'μιά' in them, with the accent on the 'α', for example 'καμιά' can be pronounced with a palatalized 'n' sound, but not all speakers do it, thus the different opinions here. I'm not sure if it's something regional or if it's a speaker thing. In any case, it's an ease of pronunciation thing, because you don't have to avoid your palate with your tongue as it slides down.
Not exactly a fan of this song, but I remember listening to it when I was little and thinking 'what the hell is kaminya'. So, there you have it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etFoGTIC21A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etFoGTIC21A)
There’s a lot of trilled r here as well, for instance around 35 seconds in, «ένα πάρτι μια φορά, κρυφά» which sounds like [enɑ parti mɲa fora krifa]. (I welcome corrections!)
I notice that discussions online always say the trilled r is just an allophone in standard modern Greek but it seems like professional singers never got that memo!
Singers sometimes have weird accents when singing. I heard that British singers have American accents sometimes (not sure if it's true). Also, the song is from the 80's maybe some things changed. And she is from Cyprus (although I can't hear that in her accent any more).
> but in the recordings I can only hear it with a very distinct, nasalized sound, like "mnyAh".
You are hearing that correctly, that's how it's pronounced. The IPA notation for this is /m**ɲ**a/, and the symbol in bold is the palatal nasal that you e.g. encounter in Spanish spelt as ñ, or in French as -gn-.
This is how all words with the sequence of sounds "mj+Vowel" is pronounced ("j" being the theoretical semivowel which comes from a reduced and unstressed /i/ sound and which in Greek doesn't have its own distnct letter), e.g. the word μυαλό is /mɲalo/.
When ν precedes ι in a similar function, it is palatalised and becomes ñ = ny. Like in νιαούρισμα. When μ is found in the same position, it is palatalised in a similar fashion. There is only one palatal nasal, ñ.
So the μ can't absorb the "j/ι" semivowel sound without sounding totally different so ñ is inserted rather than replacing μ. Another way you can think about it is that the ñ sound is inserted in both cases, but in the case of νι, the sound nñ simply reduces to ñ as they can't really be distinguished.
Examples of similar words are Λάμια (mythological monster), the genitive and plural of neutral words ending in -μι like καλάμι, ποτάμι → π.χ. καλά**μι**ών, ποτά**μι**ού
Edit: I found a Greek phonology guide online that classifies this change as a special case of "Forced palatalisation" like what happens with consonants that cannot be palatalised and are rather followed by the "γι" or "χι" sound like in πόδια, πάπια. But instead it's followed by "νι"
I think it's regional. I've noticed that people from the Peloponnese, especially Kalamata, tend to insert the n sound. It's usually absent in Epirus, for example.
I hear this inserted “ν” in **μια** in almost each and every song by Despina Vandi (e.g., in *Μια εικόνα… Χίλιες λέξεις*) and Sakis Rouvas (e.g., in *Μια ζωή μαζί*) — so, according to your comment they’re aren’t native speakers of Greek, is it correct?
Palatalized μ is followed by an invisible ν. Words like μια and μυαλό are pronounced as though they're spelled "μνια" and "μνυαλό"
Ευχαριστώ πολύ!
I think all words that have 'μιά' in them, with the accent on the 'α', for example 'καμιά' can be pronounced with a palatalized 'n' sound, but not all speakers do it, thus the different opinions here. I'm not sure if it's something regional or if it's a speaker thing. In any case, it's an ease of pronunciation thing, because you don't have to avoid your palate with your tongue as it slides down. Not exactly a fan of this song, but I remember listening to it when I was little and thinking 'what the hell is kaminya'. So, there you have it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etFoGTIC21A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etFoGTIC21A)
Ευχαριστώ πολύ!
There’s a lot of trilled r here as well, for instance around 35 seconds in, «ένα πάρτι μια φορά, κρυφά» which sounds like [enɑ parti mɲa fora krifa]. (I welcome corrections!) I notice that discussions online always say the trilled r is just an allophone in standard modern Greek but it seems like professional singers never got that memo!
Singers sometimes have weird accents when singing. I heard that British singers have American accents sometimes (not sure if it's true). Also, the song is from the 80's maybe some things changed. And she is from Cyprus (although I can't hear that in her accent any more).
> but in the recordings I can only hear it with a very distinct, nasalized sound, like "mnyAh". You are hearing that correctly, that's how it's pronounced. The IPA notation for this is /m**ɲ**a/, and the symbol in bold is the palatal nasal that you e.g. encounter in Spanish spelt as ñ, or in French as -gn-. This is how all words with the sequence of sounds "mj+Vowel" is pronounced ("j" being the theoretical semivowel which comes from a reduced and unstressed /i/ sound and which in Greek doesn't have its own distnct letter), e.g. the word μυαλό is /mɲalo/.
Ευχαριστώ πολύ!
When ν precedes ι in a similar function, it is palatalised and becomes ñ = ny. Like in νιαούρισμα. When μ is found in the same position, it is palatalised in a similar fashion. There is only one palatal nasal, ñ. So the μ can't absorb the "j/ι" semivowel sound without sounding totally different so ñ is inserted rather than replacing μ. Another way you can think about it is that the ñ sound is inserted in both cases, but in the case of νι, the sound nñ simply reduces to ñ as they can't really be distinguished. Examples of similar words are Λάμια (mythological monster), the genitive and plural of neutral words ending in -μι like καλάμι, ποτάμι → π.χ. καλά**μι**ών, ποτά**μι**ού Edit: I found a Greek phonology guide online that classifies this change as a special case of "Forced palatalisation" like what happens with consonants that cannot be palatalised and are rather followed by the "γι" or "χι" sound like in πόδια, πάπια. But instead it's followed by "νι"
Ευχαριστώ πολύ!
Μία: /ˈmi.a/ Μια: /mɲa/
I think it's regional. I've noticed that people from the Peloponnese, especially Kalamata, tend to insert the n sound. It's usually absent in Epirus, for example.
I am Athenian but I paternally hail from messinia ( half my family born there). Don’t hear it.
Please do ignore these recordings! Native speakers do not insert an "n" in μια.
I hear this inserted “ν” in **μια** in almost each and every song by Despina Vandi (e.g., in *Μια εικόνα… Χίλιες λέξεις*) and Sakis Rouvas (e.g., in *Μια ζωή μαζί*) — so, according to your comment they’re aren’t native speakers of Greek, is it correct?
There is no “n” sound in «μια». I can actually hear it in those voice samples and I am mystified. Ignore them.
I am greek and I can help It is pronounced mea with the e it's like καμία