Which speech sample is least likely to indicate hypernasality?

Producing phrases with oral-pressure consonants is the least likely speech sample to indicate hypernasality because oral-pressure consonants, such as plosives (e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, and /g/), require adequate airflow through the oral cavity to create the necessary build-up of pressure. Hypernasality occurs when there is excessive airflow through the nasal cavity during speech, particularly affecting sounds that are typically produced orally.

When a speaker produces oral-pressure consonants, any hypernasality would likely impair the articulation of these sounds, resulting in a distorted or weakened production. Conversely, the other options involve nasal sounds or higher chances of nasal resonance. For instance, saying single words with nasal consonants or producing sentences with nasal sounds would inherently involve the nasal pathways more significantly, thus betraying any hypernasality that may be present. Counting sequentially may also implicate nasality, especially if the numbers contain nasal consonants. Hypernasality is typically highlighted in contexts where nasal airflow is not appropriate, making oral-pressure consonants the least indicative in this regard.