Do Ethiopians and other places really make that click noise when that speak?

Question

If so what does it mean?

I mean when THEY speak

Answer 1

It's called a Postalveolar click, and it's used as a letter in several African languages, as well as some of the native tribes of Australia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postalveolar_click

Answer 2

There are many different kinds of click consonants and they are used in Khoisan and Bantu languages (but not Swahili, and not Ethiopian languages). The language with the most clicks is probably ǃXóõ, which has 83 click sounds. They are made by combining the 6 basic clicks with secondary articulations.

for instance:
kʘ labial
kǀ dental
kǁ lateral
kǃ alveolar
kǂ palatal
ɡʘqʼ labial click accompanied by a voiced velar plosive and uvular ejective

Answer 3

Tribes in southern africa do (rent "The Gods Must be Crazy" if you actually want to see it in action.) The click is just another phonetic sound to them, so asking what it means is like asking what does "M" mean. The Ethiopians have an explosive "T" and "K" sound (similar to phonics used by the navajos)

Answer 4

"That click noise" is actually several different sounds that are common in the Bantu family as well as other language groups in Africa. They are different articulations of the tongue, teeth and lips much like the sounds of any language. They are difficult for speakers of European languages to produce or differentiate, but they fit into words and speech just like /a/ or /th/ in English. So, they don't necessarily mean anything on their own; they're the sounds of these languages.

Answer 5

Not Ethiopians, as far as i know. But some groups in Southern Africa do have click sounds in their languages.

Answer 6

Wow what a sterotype why dont you attempt to actual do study on the country first im ethiopian.. and im deeply indignant by using this question we talk many languages yet we dont "click" like you observe contained in the films i talk amharic

Answer 7

Not in the Ethiopian languages but in the Swahili languages and other tribal lingo's some of them do.

Answer 8

is a language like any other, they think the same when they hear us....I don't know Ethiopian so i can't tell what they say but they manage to comunicate