| Nasal alveolar velar click | |
|---|---|
| ŋ͡ǃ ŋ͡ʗ | |
| ᵑǃ ᵑʗ | |
| ǃ̃ ʗ̃ |
| Nasal alveolar uvular click | |
|---|---|
| ɴ͡ǃ ɴ͡ʗ | |
| ᶰǃ ᶰʗ |
The alveolar nasal click is a click consonant found primarily among the languages of southern Africa.[2] The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for a nasal alveolar click with a velar rear articulation is ⟨ŋ͡ǃ⟩ or ⟨ŋ͜ǃ⟩, commonly abbreviated to ⟨ŋǃ⟩, ⟨ᵑǃ⟩ or ⟨ǃ̃⟩; a symbol abandoned by the IPA but still preferred by some linguists is ⟨ŋ͡ʗ⟩ or ⟨ŋ͜ʗ⟩, abbreviated ⟨ŋʗ⟩, ⟨ᵑʗ⟩ or ⟨ʗ̃⟩. For a click with a uvular rear articulation, the equivalents are ⟨ɴ͡ǃ, ɴ͜ǃ, ɴǃ, ᶰǃ⟩ and ⟨ɴ͡ʗ, ɴ͜ʗ, ɴʗ, ᶰʗ⟩. Sometimes the accompanying letter comes after the click letter, e.g. ⟨ǃŋ⟩ or ⟨ǃᵑ⟩; this may be a simple orthographic choice, or it may imply a difference in the relative timing of the releases.[3]
Features[edit]
Features of the alveolar nasal click:
- The airstream mechanism is lingual ingressive (also known as velaric ingressive), which means a pocket of air trapped between two closures is rarefied by a "sucking" action of the tongue, rather than being moved by the glottis or the lungs/diaphragm. The release of the forward closure produces the "click" sound. Voiced and nasal clicks have a simultaneous pulmonic egressive airstream.
- Its place of articulation is alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
- Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
- It is a nasal consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the nose, either exclusively (nasal stops) or in addition to through the mouth.
- It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
Occurrence[edit]
Alveolar nasal clicks are found primarily in the various Khoisan language families of southern Africa and in some neighboring Bantu languages such as Yeyi.[4]
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ǃKung | nǃan | [ᵑǃáŋ] = [ᵑʗáŋ] | 'inside' |
| Damin | n!2u | [ᵑǃᵑǃu] = [ᵑʗᵑʗu] | 'water' |
| Hadza | henqee | [ɦeŋᵑǃeʔe] = [ɦeŋᵑʗeʔe] | 'dead leopard' |
| Khoekhoe | xuruǃomǃnâ | [xȕɾúᵑǃˀóm̀ᵑǃã̀ã̀] = [xȕɾúᵑʗˀóm̀ᵑʗã̀ã̀] | 'to yank at something' |
| Zulu | inqola | [iᵑǃɔ́ːla] = [iᵑʗɔ́ːla] | 'cart' |
Glottalized alveolar nasal click[edit]
| Glottalized alveolar nasal click | |
|---|---|
| ǃ̃ˀ | |
| ᵑǃ͡ʔ ᵑ̊ǃˀ | |
| ʗ̃͡ʔ | |
| ᵑʗˀ |
All Khoisan languages, and a few Bantu languages, have glottalized nasal clicks. These are formed by closing the glottis so that the click is pronounced in silence; however, any preceding vowel will be nasalized.
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hadza | teqqe | [teᵑǃˀe] = [teᵑʗˀe] | 'to carry' |
| Khoekhoe | xuruǃomǃnâ | [xȕɾúᵑǃˀóm̀ᵑǃã̀ã̀] = [xȕɾúᵑʗˀóm̀ᵑʗã̀ã̀] | 'to yank at something' |
| Xhosa | ukuqhankqalaza | [ukʼuᵏǃʰaᵑǃˀalaza] = [ukʼuᵏʗʰaᵑʗˀalaza] | 'to struggle' |
References[edit]
- ^ Kirshenbaum assigns ⟨n^!⟩ indifferently to both alveolar and palatal clicks.
- ^ Knight, Rachael-Anne (2012-01-26). Phonetics: A Coursebook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-50419-5.
- ^ Afrika und Übersee. D. Reimer. 2005. pp. 93–94.
- ^ Sands, Bonny (2020-09-25). Click Consonants. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-42435-7.
