View source for Retroflex click

{{Short description|Family of click consonants}}
{{Infobox IPA
|above={{nowrap|Tenuis retroflex click}}<br /><small>(velar)</small>
|ipa symbol=k͜𝼊 &nbsp; k͜ψ
|ipa symbol2=ᵏ𝼊 &nbsp; ᵏψ
|ipa symbol3=𝼊 &nbsp; ψ
|decimal=122634
|imagefile=IPA Unicode 1xDF0A.svg
|imagesize=150px
}}
{{Infobox IPA
|above=Voiced retroflex click<br /><small>(velar)</small>
|ipa symbol=ɡ͡𝼊 &nbsp; ɡ͡ψ
|ipa symbol2=ᶢ𝼊 &nbsp; ᶢψ
}}
{{Infobox IPA
|above=Retroflex nasal click<br /><small>(velar)</small>
|ipa symbol=ŋ͡𝼊 &nbsp; ŋ͡ψ
|ipa symbol2=ᵑ𝼊 &nbsp; ᵑψ
}}
{{Infobox IPA
|above={{nowrap|Tenuis retroflex click}}<br /><small>(uvular)</small>
|ipa symbol=q͡𝼊 &nbsp; q͡ψ
|ipa symbol2=𐞥𝼊 &nbsp; 𐞥ψ
}}
{{Infobox IPA
|above=Voiced retroflex click<br /><small>(uvular)</small>
|ipa symbol=ɢ͡𝼊 &nbsp; ɢ͡ψ
|ipa symbol2=𐞒𝼊 &nbsp; 𐞒ψ
}}
{{Infobox IPA
|above=Retroflex nasal click<br /><small>(uvular)</small>
|ipa symbol=ɴ͡𝼊 &nbsp; ɴ͡ψ
|ipa symbol2=ᶰ𝼊 &nbsp; ᶰψ
}}

The '''retroflex clicks''' are a family of [[click consonant]]s known only from the [[Central ǃKung]] language or dialect of [[Namibia]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scott|first1=Abigail |last2=Miller|first2=Amanda |last3=Namaseb|first3=Levi |last4=Sands|first4=Bonny |last5=Shah|first5=Sheena|date=June 2, 2010|title= Retroflex Clicks in Two Dialects of ǃXung |journal= University of Botswana, Department of African Languages}}</ref> They are [[retroflex consonant|sub-apical retroflex]] and should not be confused with the more widespread [[postalveolar click]]s, which are sometimes mistakenly called "retroflex" (for example in Unicode) due to their concave tongue shape. 

The 'implicit' symbol in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] that represents the forward articulation of these sounds is {{angbr IPA|𝼊}}.<ref name=non-pulmonic>Kirk Miller & Michael Ashby, [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20253r-mod-ipa-b.pdf L2/20-253R] Unicode request for IPA modifier letters (b), non-pulmonic.</ref><ref>The character {{angbr IPA|𝼊}} was recently added to Unicode in 2021. It may be substituted in some fonts with a combining diacritic, such as {{angbr IPA|ǃ̢}} (with U+0322 {{Smallcaps all|COMBINING RETROFLEX HOOK BELOW}}) or {{angbr IPA|ǃ̨}} (with  U+0328 {{Smallcaps all|COMBINING OGONEK}}).</ref> However, usage is rare. In the literature, retroflex clicks are typically written with the ''ad hoc'' digraph {{angbr IPA|‼}}, the convention since Doke identified them as retroflex in 1925. (Doke's proposed symbol, {{angbr IPA|ψ}},<ref>{{cite journal|first=Clement M.|last=Doke|year=1925|title=An outline of the phonetics of the language of the ʗhũ: Bushman of the North-West Kalahari|journal=Bantu Studies|volume=2|pages=129–166|doi=10.1080/02561751.1923.9676181|url=https://archive.org/details/african-studies_1923-1926_2/page/129/mode/1up}}</ref> did not catch on, though it has IPA support for historical transcription, nor did Vedder's and Anders' {{angbr|⦀}}.<ref>{{cite journal|first=H.D.|last=Anders|year=1935|title=A note on a South Eastern Bushman dialect|journal=Zeitschrift für Eingeborenen-Sprachen|volume=25|pages=81–89}}<br>—— {{cite journal|year=1937|title=The clicks|journal=South African Journal of Science|volume=33|pages=926–939}}</ref> For a while Amanda Miller, who noted a lateral fricated release (as had Vedder), transcribed them {{angbr IPA|ǃ𐞷}}.<ref>{{cite book|first=Amanda|last=Miller|year=2009|title=Contrastive Coronal Click Types in !Xung}}</ref>)

Retroflex clicks are extraordinarily rare. True retroflex clicks occur in at least some dialects of Central ǃKung. They are reconstructed for the [[Proto-Kxʼa]] language and tentatively for [[Proto-Khoe–Kwadi]].<ref name=lost>Anne-Maria Fehn & Jorge Rocha (2023) Lost in translation: A historical-comparative reconstruction of Proto-Khoe-Kwadi based on archival data. ''Diachronica'' 40:5, p. 609&ndash;665.</ref> The [[Damin]] ritual jargon of [[Australia]] may have had a voiced nasal retroflex click, transcribed by Hale & Nash as {{angbr|rn!}}, though it's not known if it was phonemically distinct. However, Damin clicks presumably reflected the consonant articulations of [[Lardil language|Lardil]], in which the "retroflex" consonants are retracted [[apical consonant|apical]] alveolar rather than true retroflex, so it is likely that the Damin distinction could be described as post-alveolar apical {{IPA|[ᵑǃ̠]}} ({{angbr|rn!}}) vs a more fronted apical {{IPA|[ᵑǃ̪]}} ({{angbr|n!}}).

== Retroflex click consonants and their transcription ==
Basic retroflex clicks in three common transcription conventions are: 
{| class="wikitable"
! Trans. I !! Trans. II !! Trans. III !! Description 
|-
! colspan=4| (velar)
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|k͜𝼊}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᵏ𝼊}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|𝼊}} 
| ''[[tenuis retroflex click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|k͜𝼊ʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᵏ𝼊ʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|𝼊ʰ}} 
| ''[[aspirated consonant|aspirated]] retroflex click''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ɡ͜𝼊}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᶢ𝼊}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|𝼊̬}} 
| ''[[voiced retroflex click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ŋ͜𝼊}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᵑ𝼊}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|𝼊̬̃}} 
| ''[[retroflex nasal click]]''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ŋ͜𝼊ʰʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᵑ𝼊ʰʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|𝼊̃ʰʰ}} 
| ''aspirated retroflex nasal click''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ŋ͜𝼊ˀ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᵑ𝼊ˀ}}
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|𝼊̃ˀ}} 
| ''[[glottalized retroflex nasal click]]''
|-
! colspan=4| (uvular)
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|q͜𝼊}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|&#x107a5;𝼊}} 
|  
| ''tenuis retroflex click''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|q͜𝼊ʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|&#x107a5;𝼊ʰ}} 
| 
| ''aspirated retroflex click''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ɢ͜𝼊}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|&#x10792;𝼊}} 
| 
| ''voiced retroflex click''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ɴ͜𝼊}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᶰ𝼊}} 
| 
| ''retroflex nasal click''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ɴ͜𝼊ʰʰ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᶰ𝼊ʰʰ}} 
| 
| ''aspirated retroflex nasal click''
|-
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ɴ͜𝼊ˀ}} 
| style="font-size:24px" align="center"|{{angbr IPA|ᶰ𝼊ˀ}}
| 
| ''glottalized retroflex nasal click''
|}

==Features==
Features of postalveolar clicks:

{{click manner}}
*The place of articulation is [[post-alveolar]], and the [[tongue shape]] may be [[subapical]], which means it is articulated with the tip of the tongue curled up. The center of the tongue moves downward to create suction.
{{oral-nasal}}
{{lateral}}
{{lingual airstream}}

==Occurrence==
As with other click articulations, retroflex clicks may be produced with various [[manner of articulation|manners]]. An example is the voiced retroflex click in the [[Grootfontein ǃKung]] (Central Juu) word for 'water', {{IPA|[ᶢ𝼊𐞷ú]}} (''g‼ú''). 

Damin is the only other language known to have had such a sound, though only the nasal click occurred.

A retroflex series claimed for [[Ekoka ǃKung]] turns out to be [[domed palatal click]]s.

==See also==
*The [[fricated palatal click]] of [[Ekoka ǃKung]], which was once thought to be retroflex
*[[Alveolar click]]
*[[Bilabial click]]
*[[Dental click]]
*[[Lateral click]]
*[[Palatal click]]

==Notes and references==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite journal|last1=Scott|first1=Abigail|last2=Miller|first2=Amanda|last3=Namaseb|first3=Levi|last4=Sands|first4=Bonny|last5=Shah|first5=Sheena|date=June 2, 2010|title=Retroflex Clicks in Two Dialects of ǃXung|journal=University of Botswana, Department of African Languages}}


{{IPA navigation}}

[[Category:Retroflex consonants]]
[[Category:Click consonants]]