| Above: | (velar) |
| Ipa Symbol: | k͜ |
| Ipa Symbol2: | ᵏ |
| Ipa Symbol4: | k͜‼ ᵏ‼ |
| Ipa Symbol5: | k͜ψ ᵏψ |
| Decimal: | 122634 |
| Imagefile: | IPA Unicode 0x1DF0A.svg |
| Above: | Voiced retroflex click (velar) |
| Ipa Symbol: | ɡ͡ |
| Ipa Symbol2: | ᶢ |
| Ipa Symbol3: | ɡ͡ψ ᶢψ |
| Above: | Retroflex nasal click (velar) |
| Ipa Symbol: | ŋ͡ |
| Ipa Symbol2: | ᵑ |
| Ipa Symbol3: | ŋ͡ψ ᵑψ |
| Above: | (uvular) |
| Ipa Symbol: | q͡ |
| Ipa Symbol3: | q͡ψ ψ |
| Above: | Voiced retroflex click (uvular) |
| Ipa Symbol: | ɢ͡ |
| Ipa Symbol3: | ɢ͡ψ ψ |
| Above: | Retroflex nasal click (uvular) |
| Ipa Symbol: | ɴ͡ |
| Ipa Symbol2: | ᶰ |
| Ipa Symbol3: | ɴ͡ψ ᶰψ |
The retroflex clicks are a family of click consonants known only from the Central ǃKung language or dialect of Namibia.[1] They are sub-apical retroflex and should not be confused with the more widespread postalveolar clicks, 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 (IPA|).[2] [3] However, usage is rare. In the literature, retroflex clicks are typically written with the ad hoc digraph (IPA|‼), the convention since Doke identified them as retroflex in 1925. (Doke's proposed symbol, (IPA|ψ),[4] did not catch on, though it has IPA support for historical transcription, nor did Vedder's and Anders' (⦀).[5] For a while Amanda Miller, who noted a lateral fricated release (as had Vedder), transcribed them (IPA|ǃ).[6])
Retroflex clicks are extraordinarily rare. True retroflex clicks occur in at least some dialects of Central ǃKung. The Damin ritual jargon of Australia may have had a voiced nasal retroflex click, transcribed by Hale & Nash as (rn!), though it's not known if it was phonemically distinct. However, Damin clicks presumably reflected the consonant articulations of Lardil, in which the "retroflex" consonants are retracted apical alveolar rather than true retroflex, so it is likely that the Damin distinction could be described as post-alveolar apical pronounced as /[ᵑǃ̠]/ ((rn!)) vs a more fronted apical pronounced as /[ᵑǃ̪]/ ((n!)).
Basic retroflex clicks are:
| Trans. I | Trans. II | Trans. III | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (velar) | ||||
| (IPA|k͜) | (IPA|ᵏ) | (IPA|) | tenuis retroflex click | |
| (IPA|k͜ʰ) | (IPA|ᵏʰ) | (IPA|ʰ) | aspirated retroflex click | |
| (IPA|ɡ͜) | (IPA|ᶢ) | (IPA|̬) | voiced retroflex click | |
| (IPA|ŋ͜) | (IPA|ᵑ) | (IPA|̬̃) | retroflex nasal click | |
| (IPA|ŋ͜ʰʰ) | (IPA|ᵑʰʰ) | (IPA|̃ʰʰ) | aspirated retroflex nasal click | |
| (IPA|ŋ͜ˀ) | (IPA|ᵑˀ) | (IPA|̃ˀ) | glottalized retroflex nasal click | |
| (uvular) | ||||
| (IPA|q͜) | (IPA|𐞥) | tenuis retroflex click | ||
| (IPA|q͜ʰ) | (IPA|𐞥ʰ) | aspirated retroflex click | ||
| (IPA|ɢ͜) | (IPA|𐞒) | voiced retroflex click | ||
| (IPA|ɴ͜) | (IPA|ᶰ) | retroflex nasal click | ||
| (IPA|ɴ͜ʰʰ) | (IPA|ᶰʰʰ) | aspirated retroflex nasal click | ||
| (IPA|ɴ͜ˀ) | (IPA|ᶰˀ) | glottalized retroflex nasal click | ||
Features of postalveolar clicks:
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', pronounced as /[ᶢú]/ (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 clicks.
pronounced as /navigation/