The five basic clicks in this (Standard Khoisan) system are given below, together with their traditional labels and descriptions of their method of articulation and their sound.
⊙ |
Bilabial. A bilabial stop or affricate. Produced by realeasing air between the lips, often as in a kiss. Found only in !Xõ and Southern Bushman languages. |
/ |
Dental. A dental or alveolar affricate (sometimes described as a fricative). Produced by a sucking motion with the tip of the tongue on the teeth, as in English expression of annoyance written ‘Tisk, tisk’, phonetically [//]. Found in all Khoisan languages. |
≠ |
Alveolar. An Alveolar stop, produced by pulling the blade of the tongue sharply away from the alveolar ridge, immediately behind the teeth. A difficult sound for many people, rather in between / and ! in sound. Found in all Khoisan languages. |
Lateral. A lateral affricate (sometimes described as a fricative). Produced by placing the tip of tongue on the roof of the mouth (the exact position varies) and releasing air on one side of the mouth between the side of the tongue and the cheek. More simply, the clicking sound film cowboys use, [// //], to make their horses go. Found in all Khoisan languages. |
|
! |
Palatal, sometimes called cerebral or retroflex. An alveo-palatal or palatal stop, produced by pulling the tip of the tongue sharply away from the front of the hard palate. When made with lips rounded, it sounds rather like a cork popping from a wine bottle. Found in all Khoisan languages. |
From: Hunters and Herders of Southern Africa
Alan Barnard
(C.U.P. 1992)