Clicks are speech sounds which are produced by means of a lingual ingressive airstream mechanism: the back of the tongue makes contact with the roof of the mouth in the velar area and additionally there is a constriction further forward in the vocal tract. The sides of the tongue make contact with the palate too so that a small amount of air is trapped in the space between the tongue and the hard palate.

In producing the click, the centre of the tongue is drawn downwards so that the trapped air is rarefied creating negative pressure. Upon the release of the anterior constriction air rushes into the vocal tract as a result of the pressure difference between atmospheric pressure and the pressure inside the vocal tract. This creates a popping sound with the degree of intensity depending on the place of articulation. Ladefoged and Maddieson (1987) indicate that the location and release of the front closure is what determines the click type while the velar or uvular articulation and other accompanying properties are considered as a click’s accompaniment which describe “properties of the back oral articulation together with any pulmonic activity, laryngeal setting, or nasal airflow that accompanies (sic) the click” (Ladefoged & Maddieson, 1987: 247).