Retroflex click

Retroflex click type
𝼊  𝼊𐞷  ψ
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	𝼊​ψ
Unicode (hex)	U+1DF0A U+03C8
Image

The retroflex clicks are a family of click consonants known only from the Central ǃKung language or dialect of Namibia. They are sub-apical retroflex and should not be confused with the more widespread postalveolar clicks, which have also been called "retroflex" (for example in Unicode) due to their concave tongue shape and sometimes apical-retroflex articulation.

The 'implicit' symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents the forward articulation of these sounds is ⟨𝼊⟩. However, it has only been supported by Unicode since 2021, and usage before then is rare. In the literature, retroflex clicks have typically been written with the ad hoc digraph ⟨‼⟩, the convention since Doke identified them as retroflex in 1925. (Doke's proposed symbol, ⟨ψ⟩, did not catch on, though it has IPA support for historical transcription, nor did Vedder's and Anders' ⟨⦀⟩. For a while Amanda Miller, who noted a lateral fricated release (as had Vedder), transcribed them ⟨ǃ𐞷⟩; with the implicit IPA letter this would be ⟨𝼊𐞷⟩.)

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. A nasal retroflex click is reported from Damin.

Retroflex click consonants and their transcription

Basic retroflex clicks in three common transcription conventions are:

Features

Features of retroflex clicks:

• The basic articulation may be voiced, nasal, aspirated, glottalized, etc.
• The place of articulation is postalveolar and subapical, meaning the tip of the tongue is curled up to contact the roof of the mouth in the area behind the alveolar ridge (the gum line). The center of the tongue moves downward to create suction.
• Clicks may be oral or nasal, which means that the airflow is either restricted to the mouth, or passes through the nose as well.
• It is a lateral consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, rather than down the middle.
• 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.

Occurrence

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

Damin is the only other language known to have had such a sound, though only the nasal click occurred. It occurred as both a single and a doubled consonant, which was articulated twice. It was apico-domal, and no comparison was ever done with the Central Juu articulation.

A retroflex series claimed for Ekoka ǃKung turns out to be domed palatal clicks.

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

Further reading

• Scott, Abigail; Miller, Amanda; Namaseb, Levi; Sands, Bonny; Shah, Sheena (June 2, 2010). "Retroflex Clicks in Two Dialects of ǃXung". University of Botswana, Department of African Languages.