Voiced alveolar click
| Voiced alveolar velar click | |
|---|---|
| ɡ͡ǃ ɡ͡ʗ | |
| ᶢǃ ᶢʗ | |
| ǃ̬ ʗ̬ |
| Voiced alveolar uvular click | |
|---|---|
| ɢ͡ǃ ɢ͡ʗ | |
| 𐞒ǃ 𐞒ʗ |
The voiced (post)alveolar click is a click consonant found primarily among the languages of southern Africa. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for a voiced alveolar click with a velar rear articulation is ⟨ɡ͡ǃ⟩ or ⟨ɡ͜ǃ⟩, commonly abbreviated to ⟨ɡǃ⟩, ⟨ᶢǃ⟩ or ⟨ǃ̬⟩; a symbol abandoned by the IPA but still preferred by some linguists is ⟨ɡ͡ʗ⟩ or ⟨ɡ͜ʗ⟩, abbreviated ⟨ɡʗ⟩, ⟨ᶢʗ⟩ or ⟨ʗ̬⟩. For a click with a uvular rear articulation, the equivalents are ⟨ɢ͡ǃ, ɢ͜ǃ, ɢǃ, 𐞒ǃ⟩ and ⟨ɢ͡ʗ, ɢ͜ʗ, ɢʗ, 𐞒ʗ⟩. Sometimes the accompanying letter comes after the click letter, e.g. ⟨ǃɡ⟩ or ⟨ǃᶢ⟩; this may be a simple orthographic choice, or it may imply a difference in the relative timing of the releases.[2]
In languages which use the Bantu letters for clicks, this is most commonly written ⟨gq⟩, but it is written ⟨dq⟩ in those languages that use ⟨g⟩ for the uvular fricative.
Features
[edit]Features of the voiced (post)alveolar 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 an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
- 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]Voiced alveolar clicks are found primarily in the various Khoisan language families of southern Africa and in some neighboring Bantu languages.[3]
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naro | dqòma tcg'òó | [ɡ͜ǃòmā k͜ǂqχʼǒː] = [ᶢʗòmā ᵏ𝼋χʼǒː] | (place name) |
| Sandawe | gqakina | [ɡ͜ǃàkʰíná] = [ᶢʗàkʰíná] | 'to carry hidden' |
| Yeyi | kagǃawa | [kaɡ͜ǃawa] = [kaᶢʗawa] | 'calabash' |
References
[edit]- ^ Kirshenbaum assigns ⟨J!⟩ indifferently to both alveolar and palatal clicks.
- ^ Afrika und Übersee. D. Reimer. 2005. pp. 93–94.
- ^ Bradfield, Julian (May 2014). "Clicks, concurrency and Khoisan*". Phonology. 31 (1): 1–49. doi:10.1017/S0952675714000025. hdl:20.500.11820/63d01bc8-a4db-4cda-a4b4-0ca84d088522. ISSN 0952-6757. S2CID 14896878.
