Clicks and their accompaniments in Nama

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Clicks are found in Nama at four places of articulation, each combined with one of five so-called accompaniments.
In other words, the basic click can be combined with various kinds of voicing and nasality.
For example, the nasal accompaniments demonstrate very well that the velar airstream mechanism of the click can easily be combined with a pulmonic airstream through the nose.
The table below contains the same material as in the UCLA on-line example at

  • Clicks in Nama (UCLA Website)
    This example is also presented and discussed (with further explanation of the accompaniments, and further historical and geographical background on clicks) in P. Ladefoged's book "Vowels and Consonants" (p.156 and Table 13.12).
    In the table below we have used the same terms for the click accompaniments as found there.
    In the on-line version (and in the book) the click accompaniments are transcribed as follows (using the example of the dental click):
    voiceless unaspirated:
    voiceless aspirated: kǀʰ
    voiceless nasal: ŋ̥ǀʰ
    voiced nasal: ŋǀ
    glottal closure: ʔ
    Note that all the clicks are transcribed together with a velar plosive or nasal. This simply indicates the tongue dorsum closure needed to produce the click (i.e it does not indicate that the click is preceded by one of these sounds).

    In Nama orthography a different system is used for indicating the accompaniments (again using the dental click for illustration):
    voiceless unaspirated: ǀg
    voiceless aspirated: ǀkh
    voiceless nasal: ǀh
    voiced nasal: ǀn
    glottal closure: ǀ (i.e. no additional marking)

    In the table below, the accompaniments are listed in the first row (as column headings), and not transcribed explicitly.

    "The sound of something falling"
    "To push something into a hole"
    "Put all things into something"
    "to measure"
    "play an instrument"
    "gold"
    "the red back-part of a female baboon"
    "to call"
    "turtledove"
    "a small one"
    "to meet"
    "to talk"
    "a hollow in the ground"
    "take maize seeds one-by-one off the cob"
    "a belt"
    "to refuse"
    "a traditional cooking place"
    "to write"
    "to point"
    "to strike"