English
In one of my previous posts, I talked about how I don't like the videos about the ng sound.
I've found a video that I actually like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUU5dCwzxMc
It's brief and informative.
However, it's British English and I'm studying American English :'(
I also realized you might hear a slight "g"-like sound at the end of the "ng" sound because when you release your n' voice, your throat produces a subtle sound that might be mistaken for a "g" by listeners.
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The ng sound is strange. It is like you are preparing to say g, but then don’t. In some words, e.g. “singer”, “banger” you have the ng sound but then actually say the g because the word keeps going. In English it’s never at the start of a word, but in some other languages (I think Vietnamese, Thai are examples), they use the ng sound and start words with it. As an English speaker when I first learned this I was like “what is this sound? I cannot make it” before realizing that we have the same sound in English (or at least one that is very similar), that I think of as just g even though it’s not. Weird.
@hhh777 Great explanation! And you're right to think of it as a g because It actually is a [g], but a nasalized one; you hold your tongue in the position for [g] but release the air through your nose instead of your mouth. In American English, it isn't as liberal as in other dialects: words like hanger that don't pronounce the [g] are not optionally pronounced with a [g] by some people like they are in Britain, for instance. In other words, no American would ever say [hǽŋgʀ], and if they did, it'd be considered a quirk or a speech impediment at worst.