Retroflex click

{{Short description|Family of click consonants}}

{{Infobox IPA

|above={{nowrap|Tenuis retroflex click}}
(velar)

|ipa symbol=k͜𝼊   k͜ψ

|ipa symbol2=ᵏ𝼊   ᵏψ

|ipa symbol3=𝼊   ψ

|decimal=122634

|imagefile=IPA Unicode 1xDF0A.svg

|imagesize=150px

}}

{{Infobox IPA

|above=Voiced retroflex click
(velar)

|ipa symbol=ɡ͡𝼊   ɡ͡ψ

|ipa symbol2=ᶢ𝼊   ᶢψ

}}

{{Infobox IPA

|above=Retroflex nasal click
(velar)

|ipa symbol=ŋ͡𝼊   ŋ͡ψ

|ipa symbol2=ᵑ𝼊   ᵑψ

}}

{{Infobox IPA

|above={{nowrap|Tenuis retroflex click}}
(uvular)

|ipa symbol=q͡𝼊   q͡ψ

|ipa symbol2=𐞥𝼊   𐞥ψ

}}

{{Infobox IPA

|above=Voiced retroflex click
(uvular)

|ipa symbol=ɢ͡𝼊   ɢ͡ψ

|ipa symbol2=𐞒𝼊   𐞒ψ

}}

{{Infobox IPA

|above=Retroflex nasal click
(uvular)

|ipa symbol=ɴ͡𝼊   ɴ͡ψ

|ipa symbol2=ᶰ𝼊   ᶰψ

}}

The retroflex clicks are a family of click consonants known only from the Central ǃKung language or dialect of Namibia.{{Cite journal |last1=Scott|first1=Abigail |last2=Miller|first2=Amanda |last3=Namaseb|first3=Levi |last4=Sands|first4=Bonny |last5=Shah|first5=Sheena|date=June 2, 2010|title= Retroflex Clicks in Two Dialects of ǃXung |journal= University of Botswana, Department of African Languages}} 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 {{angbr IPA|𝼊}}.Kirk Miller & Michael Ashby, [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20253r-mod-ipa-b.pdf L2/20-253R] Unicode request for IPA modifier letters (b), non-pulmonic.The character {{angbr IPA|𝼊}} was recently added to Unicode in 2021. It may be substituted in some fonts with a combining diacritic, such as {{angbr IPA|ǃ̢}} (with U+0322 {{Smallcaps all|COMBINING RETROFLEX HOOK BELOW}}) or {{angbr IPA|ǃ̨}} (with U+0328 {{Smallcaps all|COMBINING OGONEK}}). However, usage is rare. In the literature, retroflex clicks are typically written with the ad hoc digraph {{angbr IPA|‼}}, the convention since Doke identified them as retroflex in 1925. (Doke's proposed symbol, {{angbr IPA|ψ}},{{cite journal|first=Clement M.|last=Doke|year=1925|title=An outline of the phonetics of the language of the ʗhũ: Bushman of the North-West Kalahari|journal=Bantu Studies|volume=2|pages=129–166|doi=10.1080/02561751.1923.9676181|url=https://archive.org/details/african-studies_1923-1926_2/page/129/mode/1up}} did not catch on, though it has IPA support for historical transcription, nor did Vedder's and Anders' {{angbr|⦀}}.{{cite journal|first=H.D.|last=Anders|year=1935|title=A note on a South Eastern Bushman dialect|journal=Zeitschrift für Eingeborenen-Sprachen|volume=25|pages=81–89}}
—— {{cite journal|year=1937|title=The clicks|journal=South African Journal of Science|volume=33|pages=926–939}} For a while Amanda Miller, who noted a lateral fricated release (as had Vedder), transcribed them {{angbr IPA|ǃ𐞷}}.{{cite book|first=Amanda|last=Miller|year=2009|title=Contrastive Coronal Click Types in !Xung}})

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.Anne-Maria Fehn & Jorge Rocha (2023) Lost in translation: A historical-comparative reconstruction of Proto-Khoe-Kwadi based on archival data. Diachronica 40:5, p. 609–665. The Damin ritual jargon of Australia may have had a voiced nasal retroflex click, transcribed by Hale & Nash as {{angbr|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 {{IPA|[ᵑǃ̠]}} ({{angbr|rn!}}) vs a more fronted apical {{IPA|[ᵑǃ̪]}} ({{angbr|n!}}).