click (n.)

A term used in the classification of CONSONANT sounds on the basis of their MANNER OF ARTICULATION: it is a shorthand way of referring to the series of sounds produced by using the velaric AIRSTREAM MECHANISM. In English, click sounds may be heard in the ‘tut tut’ sound of disapproval, in some types of kiss, and in the noise used to signal appreciation or to ‘gee up’ horses. In some languages (e.g. Zulu, Xhosa), clicks have PHONEMIC status. The range of clicks includes BILABIAL  , dental [|] formerly  , alveolar [!] formerly [C], and lateral [II] formerly  . COARTICULATIONS with clicks are called click accompaniments.

In early PSYCHOLINGUISTIC experiments on SPEECH PERCEPTION and COMPREHENSION, a click refers to a BURST of ACOUSTIC noise introduced extraneously into one ear while the listener attends to speech in the other. For example, it was thought that by varying the position of the click in relation to the GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE of the speech, information could be gained concerning the way in which grammatical units are perceived and organized by the brain. The experiments were generally inconclusive and are rarely cited as evidence today.