clicks

Glottalized clicks are click consonants pronounced with closure of the glottis. All click types (alveolar ǃ, dental ǀ, lateral ǁ, palatal ǂ, retroflex ‼, and labial ʘ) have glottalized variants. They are very common: All of the Khoisan languages of Africa have them (the Khoe, Tuu, and Kx'a language families, Sandawe, and Hadza), as does Dahalo and the Bantu languages Yeyi and Xhosa (though Zulu does not). They are produced by making a glottal stop (the catch in the throat in the middle of English uh-oh!), which stops the flow of air, and then using the front of the tongue to make the click sound in the middle of the glottal stop.

You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.