Postalveolar click
524854
207722306
2008-04-23T23:01:45Z
68.147.148.22
/* Occurrence */
{{Infobox IPA|ipa-number=178|ipa=451|ipa-image=Xsampa-exclamationslash.png|xsampa=!\|kirshenbaum=S!|sound=postalveolar click.ogg}}
The '''alveolar''' and '''postalveolar clicks''' are a family of [[click consonant]]s found only in [[Africa]] and in the [[Damin]] ritual jargon of [[Australia]].
The symbol in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] that represents the forward articulation of these sounds is {{IPA|ǃ}}. The symbol is not an [[exclamation mark]] in origin, but rather a [[dental click|pipe]] with a subscript dot, the old diacritic for retroflex consonants. It must be combined with a symbol for the rear articulation to represent an actual speech sound. Attested (post)alveolar clicks include:
:{| class=wikitable
! IPA !! Description
|-
| style="font-size:16px" align="center"|{{IPA|[k͡ǃ]}} <small>or</small> {{IPA|[ǃ͡k]}} || ''voiceless velar (post)alveolar click''<br>(may also be aspirated, ejective, affricated, ''etc.'')
|-
| style="font-size:16px" align="center"|{{IPA|[ɡ͡ǃ]}} <small>or</small> {{IPA|[ǃ͡ɡ]}} ||''voiced velar (post)alveolar click'' <br>(may also be breathy voiced, affricated, ''etc.'')
|-
| style="font-size:16px" align="center"|{{IPA|[ŋ͡ǃ]}} <small>or</small> {{IPA|[ǃ͡ŋ]}} ||''nasal velar (post)alveolar click'' <br>(may also be voiceless, aspirated, ''etc.'')
|-
| style="font-size:16px" align="center"|{{IPA|[q͡ǃ]}} <small>or</small> {{IPA|[ǃ͡q]}} ||''voiceless uvular (post)alveolar click''
|-
| style="font-size:16px" align="center"|{{IPA|[ɢ͡ǃ]}} <small>or</small> {{IPA|[ǃ͡ɢ]}} ||''voiceless uvular (post)alveolar click'' <br>(commonly prenasalized)
|-
| style="font-size:16px" align="center"| {{IPA|[ɴ͡ǃ]}} <small>or</small> {{IPA|[ǃ͡ɴ]}} ||''nasal uvular (post)alveolar click''
|-
| style="font-size:16px" align="center"|{{IPA|[ǃ͡ʔ]}} ||''glottalized (post)alveolar click''
|}
The last is what is heard in the sound sample at right, as non-native speakers tend to glottalize clicks to avoid nasalizing them.
Prior to 1989, {{IPA|[ʗ]}} was the IPA representation of the ''voiceless velar postalveolar click''.
==Features==
Features of postalveolar clicks:
* The [[manner of articulation]] is a sharp, [[plosive consonant|plosive]]-like release in southern Africa, but in Hadza and Sandawe they are frequently [[flap consonant|flapped]], with the underside of the tip of the tongue striking the floor of the mouth after the release of the click; in some cases, the release is rather faint, and it is this sub-apical percussive sound that dominates.
:The rear closure may be voiced, nasal, ejective, or affricate, and have any of several [[phonation]]s.
* They are produced with two articulatory closures in the oral cavity. The forward [[place of articulation]] is [[alveolar consonant|alveolar]] or [[postalveolar consonant|postalveolar]], depending on the language, and [[apical consonant|apical]], which means it is articulated with the tip of the tongue against the [[alveolar ridge]] or the roof of the mouth behind the alveolar ridge. (Damin had both articulations as separate [[phoneme]]s.) The rear place of articulation may be either [[velar consonant|velar]] or [[uvular consonant|uvular]].
* (Post)alveolar clicks may be either [[oral consonant|oral]] or [[nasal consonant|nasal]], which means air is allowed to escape either through the mouth or the nose.
* They are [[central consonant]]s, which means they are produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.
* The [[airstream mechanism]] is [[velaric ingressive]] (AKA ''lingual ingressive''), which means the pocket of air trapped between the two closures is rarefied by a "sucking" action of the tongue, rather than by the [[glottis]] or the [[lung]]s. The release of the forward closure produces the 'click' sound.
== Occurrence ==
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2"|Language !! Word !! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]!! Meaning !! Notes
|-
| colspan="2" align="center"| [[ǃKung language|{{Unicode|ǃKung}}]] ||colspan="2" align="center"| {{IPA|[ŋ!áŋ] }}||align="center"| 'inside'||
|-
| colspan="2" rowspan="4" align="center"| [[Hadza language|Hadza]] ||colspan="2" align="center"| {{IPA|[la!ko]}}||align="center"|'to trip'||
|-
| colspan="2" align="center"| {{IPA|[ke!kʰena]}}||align="center"|'to be slow'||
|-
| colspan="2" align="center"| {{IPA|[ɦe!ŋeʔe]}}||align="center"|'dead leopard'||
|-
| colspan="2" align="center"| {{IPA|[teŋ!kʔe]}}||align="center"|'to carry'||
|-
| colspan="2" align="center"| [[Sotho language|Sesotho]] ||align="center"| [[Latin alphabet|''ho '''q'''o'''q'''a'']] ||align="center"| {{IPA|[ho ǃɔǃɑ]}}||align="center"|'to examine'|| Contrasts with [[breathy voice|murmured]], [[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]], and [[nasal consonant|nasal]] alveolar clicks. See [[Sesotho phonology]]
|-
| colspan="2" align="center"| [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] ||align="center"| [[Latin alphabet|''i'''q'''anda'']] ||align="center"| {{IPA|[i!anda] }}||align="center"| 'egg'|| Contrasts with [[breathy voice|murmured]], [[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]], and [[nasal consonant|nasal]] alveolar clicks.
|-
| colspan="2" align="center"| [[Zulu language|Zulu]] ||align="center"| [[Latin alphabet|''i'''q'''a'''q'''a'']] ||align="center"| {{IPA|[iːˈ!aː!a]}}||align="center"| 'polecat' || Contrasts with [[breathy voice|murmured]], [[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]], and [[nasal consonant|nasal]] alveolar clicks.
|}
==See also==
* [[List of phonetics topics]]
{{Consonants}}
[[Category:Consonants]]
[[br:Klik drekkevig]]
[[de:Postalveolarer Klick]]
[[fr:Clic post-alvéolaire]]
[[pl:Mlask zadziąsłowy]]
[[ru:Постальвеолярный щёлкающий согласный]]