Tenuis retroflex click

Tenuis retroflex velar click
k͡𝼊k͡‼
ᵏ𝼊ᵏ‼
𝼊‼

Tenuis retroflex uvular click
q͡𝼊q͡‼
𐞥𝼊𐞥‼

Main article:Retroflex click

Thevoicelessor more preciselytenuisretroflex clickis a rareclick consonant.In practical orthography, anad hocsymbol ⟨‼⟩ is used for theretroflex clicks;a tenuis click with avelarrear articulation is ⟨k͡‼⟩ or ⟨k͜‼⟩, commonly abbreviated to ⟨k‼⟩, ⟨ᵏ‼⟩ or just ⟨‼⟩. The implicit symbol in theInternational Phonetic Alphabetis ⟨k͡𝼊⟩ or ⟨k͜𝼊⟩, abbreviated ⟨k𝼊⟩, ⟨ᵏ𝼊⟩ or just ⟨𝼊⟩.Linguists who prefer theold IPA lettersuse the analogousDoke conventionof ⟨k͡ψ⟩ or ⟨k͜ψ⟩, abbreviated ⟨kψ⟩, ⟨ᵏψ⟩ or ⟨ψ⟩. For a click with auvularrear articulation, the equivalents are ⟨q͡‼, q͜‼, q‼, 𐞥‼⟩, ⟨q͡𝼊, q͜𝼊, q𝼊, 𐞥𝼊⟩ and ⟨q͡ψ, q͜ψ, qψ, 𐞥ψ⟩. Sometimes the accompanying letter comes after the click letter, e.g. ⟨𝼊k⟩ or ⟨𝼊ᵏ⟩; this may be a simple orthographic choice, or it may imply a difference in the relative timing of the releases.

Features

Features of the tenuis retroflex click:

• Theairstream mechanismislingual 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 theglottisor thelungs/diaphragm.The release of the forward closure produces the "click" sound. Voiced and nasal clicks have a simultaneouspulmonic egressiveairstream.
• Itsplace of articulationisretroflex,which prototypically means it is articulatedsubapical(with the tip of the tongue curled up), but more generally, it means that it ispostalveolarwithout beingpalatalized.That is, besides the prototypical subapical articulation, the tongue can beapical(pointed) or, in some fricatives,laminal(flat).
• Itsphonationis voiceless, unaspirated, and unglottalized, which means it is produced without vibration or constriction of the vocal cords, and any following vowel startswithout significant delay.
• It is anoral consonant,which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
• It is acentral consonant,which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.

Occurrence

The tenuis retroflex click is only confirmed from a single language,Central!Kung.

Language	Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Central!Kung