View source for Alveolar click

{{Short description|Click consonant sound}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with the [[retroflex click]]s or [[palatal click]]s. Unicode uses the obsolete descriptions of "retroflex click" for the alveolar-click character {{angbr IPA|ǃ}} and "alveolar click" for the palatal-click character {{angbr IPA|ǂ}}.}}
{{Other uses of|!|! (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox IPA
|above={{nowrap|Tenuis alveolar click}}<br /><small>(velar)</small>
|ipa symbol=k͜ǃ &nbsp; k͜ʗ
|ipa symbol2=ᵏǃ &nbsp; ᵏʗ
|ipa symbol3=ǃ &nbsp; ʗ
|ipa number=178, 202
|decimal1=451
|decimal2=663
|imagefile=IPA Unicode 0x01C3.svg
|imagesize=150px
|xsampa=!\|kirshenbaum=c!<ref>Kirshenbaum assigned {{angbr|c!}} to IPA {{angbr|ʗ}}, which it used indifferently for both alveolar {{angbr|ǃ}} and palatal {{angbr|ǂ}} clicks.</ref>
|braille=and |braille2=t
}}
{{Infobox IPA|above=Voiced alveolar click<br /><small>(velar)</small>
|ipa symbol=ɡ͡ǃ &nbsp; ɡ͡ʗ
|ipa symbol2=ᶢǃ &nbsp; ᶢʗ
}}
{{Infobox IPA|above=Alveolar nasal click<br /><small>(velar)</small>
|ipa symbol=ŋ͡ǃ &nbsp; ŋ͡ʗ
|ipa symbol2=ᵑǃ &nbsp; ᵑʗ
}}
{{Infobox IPA
|above={{nowrap|Tenuis alveolar click}}<br /><small>(uvular)</small>
|ipa symbol=q͡ǃ &nbsp; q͡ʗ
|ipa symbol2=𐞥ǃ &nbsp; 𐞥ʗ
}}
{{Infobox IPA|above=Voiced alveolar click<br /><small>(uvular)</small>
|ipa symbol=ɢ͡ǃ &nbsp; ɢ͡ʗ
|ipa symbol2=𐞒ǃ &nbsp; 𐞒ʗ
}}
{{Infobox IPA|above=Alveolar nasal click<br /><small>(uvular)</small>
|ipa symbol=ɴ͡ǃ &nbsp; ɴ͡ʗ
|ipa symbol2=ᶰǃ &nbsp; ᶰʗ
}}

The '''alveolar''' or '''postalveolar clicks''' are a family of [[click consonant]]s found only in [[Africa]] and in the [[Damin]] ritual jargon of [[Australia]]. The tongue is more or less concave (depending on the language), and is pulled down rather than back as in the [[palatal click]]s, making a hollower sound than those consonants.

The symbol in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] that represents the [[place of articulation]] of these sounds is {{angbr IPA|ǃ}}. The symbol is not an [[exclamation mark]] in origin, but rather a [[Dental clicks|vertical bar]] with a subscript dot, the dot being the old diacritic for retroflex consonants. Prior to 1989, {{angbr IPA|ʗ}} (stretched c) was the IPA letter for the alveolar clicks, and this is still preferred by some phoneticians. The tail of {{angbr IPA|ʗ}} may be the tail of retroflex consonants in the IPA, and thus analogous to the underdot of {{angbr IPA|ǃ}}.<ref>Pullum & Ladusaw, ''[[Phonetic Symbol Guide]],'' p. 34</ref> Either letter may be combined with a second letter to indicate the [[manner of articulation]], though this is commonly omitted for [[tenuis consonant|tenuis]] clicks.

== Alveolar click consonants and their transcription ==

In official IPA transcription, the click letter is combined with a {{angbr IPA|k ɡ ŋ q ɢ ɴ}} via a tie bar, though {{angbr IPA|k}} is frequently omitted. Many authors instead use a superscript {{angbr IPA|k ɡ ŋ q ɢ ɴ}} without the tie bar, again often neglecting the {{angbr IPA|k}}. Either letter, whether baseline or superscript, is usually placed before the click letter, but may come after when the release of the velar or uvular occlusion is audible. A third convention is the click letter with diacritics for voicelessness, voicing and nasalization; it does not distinguish velar from uvular alveolar clicks. Common alveolar clicks in these three transcriptions are:

{| class="wikitable"
! Trans. I !! Trans. II !! Trans. III !! Description 
|-
! colspan=4| (velar)
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|k͜ǃ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᵏǃ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ǃ}} 
| ''[[tenuis alveolar click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|k͜ǃʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᵏǃʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ǃʰ}} 
| ''[[aspirated consonant|aspirated]] alveolar click''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ɡ͜ǃ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᶢǃ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ǃ̬}} 
| ''[[voiced alveolar click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ŋ͜ǃ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᵑǃ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ǃ̬̃}} 
| ''[[alveolar nasal click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ŋ͜ǃ̥̥ʰʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᵑǃ̥ʰʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ǃ̥̃ʰʰ}} 
| ''[[aspirated alveolar nasal click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ŋ͜ǃˀ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᵑǃˀ}}
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ǃ̃ˀ}} 
| ''[[glottalized alveolar nasal click]]''
|-
! colspan=4| (uvular)
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|q͜ǃ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|𐞥ǃ}} 
|  
| ''[[tenuis alveolar click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|q͜ǃʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|𐞥ǃʰ}} 
| 
| ''[[aspirated alveolar click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ɢ͜ǃ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|𐞒ǃ}} 
| 
| ''[[voiced alveolar click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ɴ͜ǃ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᶰǃ}} 
| 
| ''[[alveolar nasal click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ɴ͜ǃ̥ʰʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᶰǃ̥ʰʰ}} 
| 
| ''[[aspirated alveolar nasal click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ɴ͜ǃˀ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᶰǃˀ}}
| 
| ''[[glottalized alveolar nasal click]]''
|}

The last can be heard in the sound sample at right; non-native speakers tend to ''glottalize'' clicks to avoid nasalizing them. The nasal click may also be heard at the right.

In the orthographies of individual languages, the letters and digraphs for alveolar clicks may be based on either the vertical bar symbol of the IPA, {{angbr IPA|ǃ}}, or on the Latin {{angbr|q}} of Bantu convention. [[Khoekhoe language|Khoekhoe]] and most [[Bushman]] languages use the former; [[Naro language|Naro]], [[Sandawe language|Sandawe]], and [[Zulu language|Zulu]] use the latter.

==Features==
Features of postalveolar clicks:

{{click manner}}
*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 contrasted these two articulations as separate [[phoneme]]s.) The release is a sharp, plosive sound in southern Africa, but in Sandawe it may be percussive, with the underside of the tip of the tongue striking the floor of the mouth after the release of the click (see below), and in Hadza the release is often quite weak.
{{oral-nasal}}
{{central click}}
{{lingual airstream}}

==Occurrence==
[[English language|English]] does not have an alveolar click (or any other click consonant) as a phoneme, but a plain alveolar click does occur in [[linguistic mimesis|mimesis]], as a sound children use to imitate a horse trotting.<ref>Tucker ''et al.'' (1977), ''The East-African Click Languages: A Phonetic Comparison''</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!colspan=2| Language !! Word !! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] !! Meaning !! Notes
|-
|colspan=2| [[!Kung language|!Kung]]
| '''''nǃ'''an''
|align=center| {{IPA|[ᵑǃáŋ] {{=}} [ʗ̃áŋ]}}
| 'inside'
|
|-
|colspan=2 rowspan=4| [[Hadza language|Hadza]]
| {{lang|hts|la'''q'''o}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[laᵏǃo] {{=}} [laʗ̊o]}}
| 'to trip'
|
|-
| {{lang|hts|ke'''qh'''ena}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[keᵏǃʰena] {{=}} [keʗ̊ʰena]}}
| 'to be slow'
|
|-
| {{lang|hts|he'''nq'''ee}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[ɦeᵑǃeʔe] {{=}} [ɦeʗ̃eʔe]}}
| 'dead leopard'
|
|-
| {{lang|hts|te'''qq'''e}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[teᵑǃˀe] {{=}} [teʗ̃ˀe]}}
| 'to carry'
|
|-
|colspan=2| [[Sandawe language|Sandawe]]
| {{lang|sad|'''gq'''okomi}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[ᶢǃokomi] {{=}} [ʗ̬okomi]}}
| 'greater kudu'
| may have a [[#Percussive alveolar clicks|slapped release]]: {{IPA|[ǃ̬͡¡okomi] {{=}} [ʗ̬͡¡okomi]}}
|-
|colspan=2| [[Sotho language|Sotho]]
| {{lang|st|ho '''q'''o'''q'''a}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[hoᵏǃɔᵏǃɑ] {{=}} [hoʗ̊ɔʗ̊ɑ]}}
| 'to chat/converse'
| Contrasts with [[Breathy voice|murmured]], [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]], and [[alveolar nasal click]]s. See [[Sotho phonology]]
|-
|colspan=2| [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]]
| {{lang|xh|i'''q'''anda}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[iᵏǃanda] {{=}} [iʗ̊anda]}}
| 'egg'
| Contrasts with [[Breathy voice|murmured]], [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]], and [[alveolar nasal click]]s
|-
|colspan=2| [[Taa language|ǃXóõ]]
| {{lang|nmn-Latn|'''ǃ'''qhàà}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[ǃ͡qʰɑ̀ː] {{=}} [ʗ͡qʰɑ̀ː]}}
| 'water'
| An aspirated [[Pulmonic-contour clicks|linguo-pulmonic]] stop
|-
|colspan=2| [[Zulu language|Zulu]]
| {{lang|zu|i'''q'''a'''q'''a}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[iːᵏǃáːᵏǃa]}} {{=}} {{IPA|[iːʗ̊áːʗ̊a]}}
| 'polecat'
| Contrasts with [[breathy voice|murmured]], [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]], and [[alveolar nasal click]]s.
|}

=={{anchor|Percussive alveolar clicks}}Percussive release==
{{Infobox IPA
|above=Percussive alveolar click<br><small>(tenuis velar)</small>
|ipa symbol=ᵏǃ͡¡
|ipa symbol2=k͜ǃꜞ
|ipa-number=|decimal=
}}
{{Infobox IPA
|above=Percussive palatal click<br><small>(nasal velar)</small>
|ipa symbol=ᵑǂ͡¡
|ipa symbol2=ŋ͜ǂꜞ
|ipa-number=|decimal=
}}

In [[Sandawe language|Sandawe]], alveolar clicks commonly have a ballistic release, with the underside of the tip of the tongue subsequently striking the floor of the mouth.<ref>Wright, Richard, Ian Maddieson, Peter Ladefoged, Bonny Sands (1995). "A phonetic study of Sandawe clicks", ''UCLA Working Papers in Phonetics'', No. 91: Fieldwork Studies in Targeted Languages III.</ref> This allophone has been called "flapped" and "slapped". Sometimes the percussive slap is louder than the release, resulting in a sound that has been characterized as a "cluck". The symbol for the sublingual [[percussive consonant|percussive component]] is {{angbr IPA|¡}} in the [[extensions to the IPA]]; a slapped click is therefore transcribed {{angbr IPA|ǃ͡¡}} or {{angbr IPA|ǃꜞ}} (or {{angbr IPA|ʗ͡¡, ʗꜞ}}). The percussive allophones of the five Sandawe alveolar clicks are {{IPA|[ᵏǃ͡¡, ᵏǃ͡¡ʰ, ᶢǃ͡¡, ᵑǃ͡¡, ᵑǃ͡¡ˀ]}} (or {{IPA|[ᵏʗꜞ ᵏʗꜞʰ ᶢʗꜞ ᵑʗꜞ ᵑʗꜞˀ]}} etc.).

(Clement Doke also noted a [[palatal click with slapped release]], {{IPA|[ᵑǂ¡]}}.)<ref>Clement Doke (1925) An outline of the phonetics of the language of the ʗhũ̬꞉ Bushman of the North-West Kalahari. ''Bantu Studies'' 2: 129–166.</ref>

Nasal clicks that fit this description are used by speakers of [[Gan Chinese]] (from [[Ningdu]] county) and of Mandarin (from Beijing and [[Jilin]]), and presumably people from other parts of the country, with varying degrees of competence in nursery rhymes for the words for 'goose' and 'duck', both of which begin with {{IPA|/ŋ/}} in Gan and until recently began with {{IPA|/ŋ/}} in Mandarin as well. In Gan, the nursery rhyme is (disregarding tone),
:{{IPA|[tʰien i tsʰak ᵑǃ͡¡o]}} 天一隻鵝 'a goose in the sky'
:{{IPA|[ti ha i tsʰak ᵑǃ͡¡a]}} 地下一隻鴨 'a duck on the ground'
:{{IPA|[ᵑǃ͡¡o saŋ ᵑǃ͡¡o tʰan, ᵑǃ͡¡o pʰau ᵑǃ͡¡o]}} 鵝生鵝蛋鵝孵鵝 'a goose lays a goose egg, a goose hatches a goose'
:{{IPA|[ᵑǃ͡¡a saŋ ᵑǃ͡¡a tʰan, ᵑǃ͡¡a pʰau ᵑǃ͡¡a]}} 鴨生鴨蛋鴨孵鴨 'a duck lays a duck egg, a duck hatches a duck'
where the {{IPA|/ŋ/}} onsets are all pronounced {{IPA|[ᵑǃ͡¡]}}.<ref>Geoffrey Nathan, 'Clicks in a Chinese Nursery Rhyme', JIPA (2001) 31/2.</ref>

=={{anchor|"Fricated" alveolar click}}"Fricated" alveolar clicks==
A series of clicks in [[Ekoka !Kung]] have been variously described as retroflex or [[Palatal click#Fricated palatal clicks|fricated palatal clicks]].

==See also==
*[[Bilabial click]]
*[[Dental click]]
*[[Lateral click]]
*[[Palatal click]]
*[[Retroflex click]]
*[[Index of phonetics articles]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{phoible|ǃ}}

{{IPA navigation}}

[[Category:Alveolar consonants]]
[[Category:Click consonants]]
[[Category:Percussive consonants]]