Paralinguistic Use of Clicks in Chad

Interjections (Oxford Handbook of Word Classes)

“…] in English conversation shows it to be used as a device to deliver an unspoken comment without being taken to respond (Ogden 2020): a prime example of the in-betweenness exploited by liminal signs. On the other hand, Laal and a number of other languages in Chad have recruited a series of clicks to form a paradigm of interjections with interactional and interpersonal functions, which speakers recognize as conventionalized and treat as accountable actions (Lionnet 2020). This makes visible one source path for interjections: bodily conduct may be recruited in liminal signs, which in turn may develop into full-blown interjections as they become increasingly conventionalised and on-record.…”

A typology of the use of clicks

“…This speech sound seems in some respect to resemble the "click-like articulation" described by Lionnet (2020) for several West African languages, e.g., the anterior closure is not released. Tuhuse andTraill (1999:1041) provide convincing arguments which show that this "dorsally released click" [ ǂ*] "is not a possible speech sound" and therefore does "not exist in any language".…”

“…Among them are also speech sounds which do not comply with the basic features described in the production of click consonants and which might therefore be more appropriately labelled as "click-like articulations" (Lionnet 2020:422). Lionnet (2020) observes that several of the non-consonantal clicks and "non-phonemic clicklike articulations" which he reports for Laal, a language isolate of Chad, are shared among West and Central African languages more widely. For example, one of the click-like speech sounds, described by Lionnet (2020:427-432) for Laal as a "back-released velar click", is used as a backchanneling strategy to express approval also in Wolof (see also Pillion et al 2019).…”

How should descriptive grammars cover interjections?

“…] in English conversation shows it to be used as a device to deliver an unspoken comment without being taken to respond (Ogden 2020): a prime example of the in-betweenness exploited by liminal signs. On the other hand, Laal and a number of other languages in Chad have recruited a series of clicks to form a paradigm of interjections with interactional and interpersonal functions, which speakers recognize as conventionalized and treat as accountable actions (Lionnet 2020). This makes visible one source path for interjections: bodily conduct may be recruited in liminal signs, which in turn may develop into full-blown interjections as they become increasingly conventionalized and on-record.…”