Click consonant

A consonant produced by forming two closures in the mouth, lowering the enclosed air pressure, and releasing one closure to create a sharp click.

Velaric ingressive airstream: An airstream mechanism that uses a sealed oral cavity and tongue movement to create inward airflow at the release. It supplies the pressure change that produces a click without using lung air.
Place of articulation: The location in the vocal tract where a speech sound is constricted. The front closure determines whether a click is dental, alveolar, lateral, or another type.
Khoekhoe phonology: The sound system of Khoekhoe, a Khoe language with a rich inventory of click consonants. Its click contrasts show how clicks function as ordinary phonemes in a language.
Khoisan languages: A traditional grouping of southern African languages associated with click consonants, though not a single established family. The label reflects the region and languages historically most associated with clicks.
Double articulation: A speech gesture involving two simultaneous oral constrictions, often at different places in the vocal tract. Most clicks use a front closure and a rear closure made at the same time.
Manner of articulation: The way airflow is shaped or obstructed when a speech sound is produced. Click manner depends on the unusual suction-and-release process, not simply its place.
Zulu phonology: The sound system of Zulu, a Nguni Bantu language that includes several click consonants. Zulu demonstrates how clicks can become established through contact and borrowing.
Khoe languages: A language family of southern Africa that includes languages with extensive click inventories. Khoe languages preserve some of the best-known systems of lexical click contrasts.
Click release: The release of an oral closure that produces the characteristic burst of a click consonant. Releasing the front closure lets air rush into the lowered-pressure cavity.
Dental click: A click consonant made with a front closure at or near the upper teeth. It is one of the principal place categories in click inventories.

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