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> What about those African languages made up of all clicking sounds? I am unaware of any African language, or any language in general, that only uses clicking

• pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  They might be thinking of Xhosa; but I reckon I've heard a language expressed only with clicks (perhaps it's a vernacular?), and a whistle-language used by some mountain peoples (in Eastern Europe?).
  • govg 8y ago
    Even Xhosa has some consonants that aren't clicks, afaik. Also, your comment leads to this interesting wiki article : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistled_language https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistled_language
    • pbhjpbhj 8y ago
      Yes, Xhosa isn't "all clicks", as you point out, I've a friend who can speak a little of it, but just my guess about a "click language" people might have half-heard of and assumed was all clicks. I've been trying to recall where I heard a "pure clicking" language, I've a feeling it was a bushmen docu from Botswana - and it might just be that the hunters used words that only required clicks, or I misheard, etc.. Anyway, http://listverse.com/2018/08/10/10-extraordinary-languages-that-do-not-involve-speaking/ http://listverse.com/2018/08/10/10-extraordinary-languages-t... and https://www.britannica.com/topic/click-languages https://www.britannica.com/topic/click-languages mention Damin, which sounds (no pun intended!) like it might have been mainly composed of clicking sounds? Perhaps what I heard was slang/dialect tailored to the activity, which IIRC was hunting.