Xhosa Lesson 2. How to say "click" sounds.

[jadziunia92]

kurde jakie to trudne ale ciekawe :D

[niuzhi]

I can pronounce all the 3 clicks, but have difficulties putting them with following vowels. =|

[MisSorryforthespam]

@niuzhi yep same problem

[AnnLea77]

I am a married girl and I fell in love with your tongue :*

[DeviLBenjo]

Khaya you are awesome . I love your expressions and how you are talking . I could snuggle you all day AND IM A GUY xD Haha :D

[Esqiam]

You are da bomb, my brother! Thank you so much for your work.

[KingdomHeartsFan3211]

Thumbs up if you think the 'Q' clicks is the hardest.

[lilkenny123123]

YES I GOT IT ALL BUT THERE IS SPIT ALL OVER MY LAPTOP...

[sese17queen]

this is fun but i hav trouble wit the 1st one

[CROWZINC]

damn it !! when i tried to say a click of these my spit came out

[BMKme]

I can do the clicks now I just have to figure out how to say the words

[MegaJacqueline1997]

omg dat kan ik niet zeggen pfff moeilijk

[Musicisamazing2000]

i got here by searching click for sound



[DesireForDramione]

i looove this!! =))

[margarinefly55]

You have the cutest smile that exists, thank you for the fun lesson.

[joeymediauk]

You look the happiest guy in the world

[DreamCatcher537]

Wow your good!

[fndalves]

are you sucking the air with your tongue while you blow the vowel in your thoat?? or are you interrupting the air flow from the lungs with your tongue and releasing it to pornounce the clicks??

[jimbojones091]

Theres a difference between a black dude which is this guy and a nigger which is a drug dealing "ghetto" scumbag.

[someastronautfood]

I read that D'Oliveira, so I clicked that, then I searched about his life..clicked on Nelson Mandela, then noticed he spoke Xhosa (i am a linguist), and I wanted to see if I could find a video of him speaking Xhosa. I clicked Wikipedia on Xhosa language and have always wanted to hear a native speaker explain the clicks. I did fairly well! This is a great instructional video! I had never heard it being spoken  (I have focused more on Swahili, but this is equally as amazing! Thanks!

[NAPSALMON]

BOB MARLEY GOT A HAIRCUT!

[RandomAssReviews]

Nigga pleex how u say di koosh

[tijijit1]

16 people got blinded by his teeth :)

[jellewii]

aah i was pronouncing it as toaster

[JeremiahGAK]

I dont know how I got here, im almost interested enough to wanna learn this.

[Vegafranky]

I was looking for a toothpaste commercial..lol..

[gibranACDC]

so thats why I pissed that horse off !

[cepson]

*Liked*

Thanks for explaining in a simple way what used to be an imponderable mystery to me.

[CohokeCotton]

Why do they use clicke instead of words? I thought it would be much more easy just to use words.

[epicusernamefail]

@CohokeCotton and they think its easier just to use clicks, were all different you know

[bkariel93]

you have amazing teeth, man!!! :)

[micjacinnbe]

you're eyes are beautiful ^^

[Ultranothing]

@micjacinnbe "You are eyes are beautiful"?

Because that's what you said. Why is this such a pet-peeve of mine? Because people have the choice of "their," "there," or "they're" - and they ALWAYS choose wrong!

I mean, even if you cannot decipher between the difference in the meaning of the words (which you obviously cannot), you've still got a one in three chance of getting it right.

AND YOU NEVER DO! You ALWAYS choose the wrong one!

"They're" = "They are".

[micjacinnbe]

@Ultranothing Sorry dude, I'm from Turkey and I grew up in Germany.

So my english isn't perfect, but it's quite good.

It was just a mistake and I'm really sorry for it.

But hey? Why are you so serious about this, huh?

C'mon, if you said a German sentence wrong, I wouldn't take it THAT serious!

By the way... Not only the German grammar is much more difficult than the English, but also the pronounciation. So watch your words, you no-good.

[Ultranothing]

@micjacinnbe You're right! Absolutely! Like I said, it's just a pet-peeve of mine. I take it out on random people, and sometimes (like this time) I get made a fool of because it turns out that person doesn't speak English as their native language.

But it is a rampant problem for those who do speak English as their native language. If you're from Turkey and grew up in Germany, I honestly have nothing to say about your command of English. I sure as hell can't speak German or Turkish. Sorry!

[micjacinnbe]

@Ultranothing Ok dude, I think you just wanted to correct my mistake, didn't you? (;

[Ultranothing]

@micjacinnbe Well, yeah. But then you made me feel like an asshole, so I thought a suitable apology was in order? Sorry?

[micjacinnbe]

@Ultranothing It's ok, I forgive you bro^^

[Ultranothing]

@micjacinnbe Allrighty, then!

[lotus3232]

C'est genial ;-) You are a excellent teacher !!!

[ishamarxoxo]

im so confuse i guess ill just stick to english lol

[lightningsorcerer]

Very informative :)

[HereICCome]

french s easy :-l

btw luv your vids, awesome language awesome you :)

[sebastiaan931]

can you do the elephant ?



[summeraja35]

click it or ticket

[ConlangFan]

Omg, I can't say them!!

[yetihouse]

lol i thought he said "like the sound when you are riding a whore"

[iamtexas]

So the break down is:

C - palatoalveolar click /ǂ/

X - lateral alveolar click /II/

Q - post-alveolar click /!/

right?

[Abcflc]

and I thought dutch was difficult to pronounce...

[tijijit1]

@Abcflc I speak fluent Dutch... lol.

This is hell hard!

[racefan40]

Wow I can kinda make the click sounds, but try to say anything at the same time is so hard! not to mention there is now a ton of spit on my comp lol

[WonderWomanFan4life]

your so sexy

[tinkerbell1138]

Easy 4 You.....

[Voidiria]

does G have a certain click to it like if I want to say genkoko, gapu gapu or a phrase like kokgeyma keh

[ThatISFalco]

cool video

quite informative

[LatinaAmante]

click click bloody pancakes (stewie)

[jubilee203]

What a complicated language. And they're multi-lingual.

[doorframepush]

I kept staring at your teeth the whole time. o___o so beautiful

[Faust013]

@doorframepush It's the contrast.

[maraippo]

so russell peters wasnt lying...ahahahahahahhaa.

[DrMadolite]

Oh man that's hard, but I managed to say some of it by doing it on my in-breath :D

[iwatchmuvees]

its funny how it echos in the background

[Bsmurfdizzle]

dude u look like a str8 up alien, backup from da cam brah

[frogpollen]

Omg so complex! 

[dansaryou]

I will be addressing two audiences in SA in early September. In the opening I want to ask, in English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa, "Why are you here?". Can you help me with the Xhosa way to say this? In the meantime I am practicing my Xs, Qs and Cs, even if the phrase doesn't include any...

Thanks.

[mivano328]

Awesome video! Thanks for teaching us the sounds of your wonderful language. It took me back to my African roots there for a moment! :) Such and adorable teacher too!

[Ticia77]

This wasn't so bad...just requires a lot of practice. 

[indgiu]

they are difficult my friend

but I guess with practice...

[Stormith]

I am trying and I feel like I am making progress. We need some damn linguistics illustrations or something on how to make these sounds.

[Toryce]

I CANT DO IT



[chacha22111]

i bet you eat good vagina

[reagestme]

cool but if you have to shout loud? does it work the same or you use other word which have less clicks? or you wont hera clicks? or you dont shout? =)

[Mayokitty7]

Huh. I've been clicking all along.

Fantastic video!

[louisemalandebeer]

Hahaha!! No way I'm going to make a vid response :))) But I've got a sisi at work that can help me, this is a great place to start, and I've never been able to get the clicks right up until now!! thank you! Respect.

[VulgarTeacake]

this is phenomenal! i've seen other videos and have had no success, but this video is easy to understand and very helpful! :]

[MrNwGrindKeepGoinOnB]

you're a good teacher :D

nevermind the racial comments (i don't see any on the first comment page, but i'm almost positive that they are there somewhere)

and are you using your vocal chords at 1:59?

[MrNwGrindKeepGoinOnB]

that's crazy.

[BhudhaLovesBudlight]

Idk why i'm watching this but its awesome! haha



[porvort]

You have big !head

[5Ducklings]

This is fantastic! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain it. My daughter's in stitches laughing at me, but I think I have it better now. Thanks! :D

[mziwewonga]

He KHAYA i'm a South African Xhosa living in Korea,South and I was asked to talk about my country and our cultures, so i used your video for the Xhosa stuff and got them to say some of the letters :) thnks Bra!

[ophib88]

he look high as shit

[therealonethistime]

This is so amazing. Thanks for making it! <3

[Toniehoek]

I have some difficulty with C, great difficulty with X, and Q is somehow easy. (Igqira ledlela nguQongqut'hwane...)

[Trotzburg]

How does he do that?

[blacksunprison13]

Are letting air out or taking air in while you are combining the clicks with the vowels? I can make the clicks easily enough, but I'm having trouble using them with vowels.

[daskulp]

@blacksunprison13 You kind of have to suck in a little air for the click and then let it out right away for the vowel. As with all new things, it takes some practice. :)

[TheTomasina]

That's acctually way easier than I thought it would be

[AfricanDiasporaWar]

I can't get it! I am so frustrated!

[TheFr3sh1]

God damn I short circuited my lcd bro

[vikingsailorboy]

I LOVE how he threw "supposedly" difficult in there....lol.

[punchdrunkatheist]

This is harder than I thought, lol.

[aboodal3las]

my screen is filled with water XD

[Atbay8]

Fascinating - beautiful and intriguing language!

[wcr4]

What is occurring my brother?

[MrNwGrindKeepGoinOnB]

@wcr4 :D

[Elitarismus]

sehr dick... thumbsup...

[xV3ND3TT4x]

I'm sure that if you can speak Xhosa, you can beatbox too ...!

[paniatka]

lol, I spitted on myself

[SapphireBloom19]

I spat on my key board lol

[GaiaPapaya]

hmm I manage to do those clicks but I cannot combine them with vowels ^^;

xhosa is "click ...osa" when I try it.. damn how do I do it?

[StevenBee2]

Extremely helpful! Thank you!

[hustlerx7]

@Chaos13666 - spat*

[lonely1wicca]

It's quite simplee i guess. In my past i've been using clicks as a way to speak in an unfamiliar language for others. Only i knew what has been said. The three sounds you're learning us are familiar sounds for me. Used them constantly.

[CusterFlux]

Xcellent Teacher! ;)

[HelloThatsMe0Ma0]

PS: Click 6 all the time :)

[HelloThatsMe0Ma0]

Gr*click*eat vi*clock*deo !!

[cullly]

Great video! You make a scary language sound easier..

[10milesfromnowhere]

I can make the 3 clicks. I can talk. But I can't for the life of me figure out how to do both at the same time! When I click I suck air in, when I talk air gets pushed out. Major conflict, and to me it seems anatomically impossible, but as all Xhosa speakers proof it can easily be done.. Anyone got tips??

[sashavboyd]

@10milesfromnowhere The three clicks are what's called ‘velaric ingressive’. Basically that means that you're right about the air going *in* when you say them, but it's only going in a little way — not all the way to your lungs. Try just saying ‘mmmmmm’ — just like you're humming — and then try making the click sounds at the same time.

[freakman707]

beautful teeth!!!

[Merejkowski]

Excellent video. On occasion, I doubt my decision to become a linguist, and then I come across something like this. I'll have to see about learning one of the Bantu languages, I just love the clicks :)

[4bree0729]

dude , this is a cool video but . . . your head is big .

[Alexifish]

thanks for the video! I think the first one is the hardest -- getting there, though :)

[blackbeanbeat]

LOL..! great video...! thanks for the explanation...!

[Burair101]

the clicks pretty easy for me. I guess it's true what they say that if you know Arabic you can correctly speak any language. I highly recommend learning Arabic.

[AdelineT85]

@Burair101 hahhaa how arrogant.

[happygamestvfun1]

@Burair101 Well you just proved your little "myth" wrong. You can't speak english correctly, as you have shown in your comment. Besides were did you even hear that load of trash from anyway?

[Burair101]

@happygamestvfun1 Dear happygamestvfun I didn't mean I know the grammers of every language neither do I know the vocabulary of every language I just said that if you speak Arabic you can pronounce most of the constants and vowels of other languages correctly.

[happygamestvfun1]

@Burair101 Well most arabic speakers I come across can't even pronounce simple english words, if they can't pronounce english words how could they prounonce more complex clicking sounds found in this launguge. Thus you are proven wrong

[themakuraman]

thank you for this!!!!!

[Hatimhanif]

I really enjoyed your video, I found the last one to be the hardest!

[simp1eone]

I Love you.

[mnajar8a]

WOW thank you soo much for posting this. I am so interested in knowing how click languages sound. I am a linguistics major student and we are just learning about clicks. they are so hard to make.

thank you for posting this again.

[Al3xiaAnn3]

@mnajar8a Me too! :D

[majorantagonist]

'its easy' ...

[TEAMxEPICxSPACE]

The hardest shit ever!!!!!!

[BetsySteinerSchool]

(haha) you're beautiful!!! :-)

nice video :)

[skworq]

Language variations around the world is truly amazing. Great vid, thank you!

[MrDaviator]

i feel like im kissin him

[ikurasake]

Damn it, why did my ancestors have to get rid of the click sound upon leaving Africa?

[simp1eone]

@ikurasake -uhmm yours was from WEST AFRICA - nothing to do with the South - so no one got rid of any click. Wiki has a lot of history fa ya - i find it amazing how still african americans still think they migrated from all over africa - thats is not true 90% are from WEST - you have no history in the south - AFrica is a big country with different nations - NOT ONE COUNTRY. Do a lil research

[ikurasake]

@simp1eone You know what, I'm not even going to take you seriously. "AFrica is a big country", "NOT ONE COUNTRY." Also, way to be hyper-racially sensitive. So I was misinformed? Sue me! I appreciate you correcting me, but you can be calmer about it. And lastly, Wikipedia is not a good example to use for reputable research.

[PeachesMcKreem]

I can do the clicks no worries i just can't incorporate them into words.  It's like click pause word. N i wanted to impress my bf by getting it when he tries to teach me

[Elementl19]

OMG I LOVE U!!!

[JigokuKitty]

I am driving myself crazy trying to incorporate these sounds. Seriously...such a beautiful language and I am just...completely...inept O_o

[LanguageFreak88]

interesting :)

[blakanies]

wouw that's amazing

[freakman707]

this language sounds sooooo cool.

[faizal020]

ICICI ZITHINI LAPHO NDODA?

ca ce ci co cu.

[ImJoshHi]

omgg amazing language!

[hanke94]

he must be an amazing beatboxer...

[kagentfred999]

Tip: When ur bored, put a remote controle in ur mouth but it has to be small, .....nevermind.

[jumpnjza2]

Question. How do you shout a click?

[alexvlk]

When I first said "Xhosa" properly I was so happy.

[Josh10311]

I wonder if Rosetta stone has this language

[FalconKing60]

ITS REAL I KNEW I WASN'T CRAZY

[mQtek]

beautiful language, amazing :)

[im4everskilled]

X X X X X X X X XXXXXXXXXXX

[Sh3llshock361]

You sir, have amazing teeth. Great lesson btw lol.

[TriCosta]

awesome !! :D

[PrinceRoserade]

8 people are mad they can't make clicks. :D

[bxatxscripps]

@PrinceRoserade its 16 ppl now beezy

[Prescott9679]

"And i think to myself: "What a wonderful world"

[Karamel2233]

you have wonderful canines ;  )

[mafiaslicka]

my mouth dries out from this

[snake896]

oh my god....this is a bad ass hard language! how the hell can anyone even pronaunce thos clicking sound?!!

[waffelstomp095]

@snake896 Clearly, you have never been to South Africa... Am I correct in saying this?

Khaya, this vid is mean dawg. Awe, well done mfana!!

[lohphat]

A few questions:

1. When children are learning Xhosa, when they learn "x" do they choose on side of the tongue or the other and then stick with it or do you change depending on the workd and sounds before or after?

2. I've seen other Xhosa YT videos and hear different "qualities" of each sound. For example, your "q" is very resonant -- more of a "pop" than a "click" while others it's softer -- more of a click.

3. Are there Xhosa speakers that one admires as exemplary speakers for their tone?

[cannoir]

@lohphat Madiba and Thabo are both well known eloquent Xhosa speakers .If you want a good dose of xhosa you hould watch the movie white wedding, it is subbed in english.95% of the movie is Xhosa, they speak a pure xhosa from a posh to a casual and a slang filled xhosa , there is everything for everyone. you will get your dose of excessive clicks.The trailer's on youtube ,you can DL the movie I doubt they sell it abroad.

[lohphat]

@cannoir Thanks!  I just bought it via iTunes.

[Skatepro5]

You seem like such a happy guy! cool vid

[kahea2018]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I'm writing a language and I wanted to use the clicks in it but I could only say one of them and that was the X and now I am learning them all! :)

[Skatepro5]

@kahea2018 you're writing a language..? that's not how languages work out..

[caesar619]

8 people can't click

[lohphat]

@caesar619 No the X'ed in the wrong place....

[haga936]

Thank you. I think I get it, no problem, I can create the sounds. But it's combining the sounds with the rest of the speach that is diffucult. I'm Swedish, and we have quite a few vowel sounds that nobody else is able to pronounce. Some sounds you have to experience as an infant to actually get. As an adault, it's impossible to get it right.

This is Miriam Makeba's language, right? Love it.

[monitorulcivic]

Can you please say XEROX?

[buraddoh]

thats is soooo coooooooool!

[theskater45012]

*click* KFC *click* WATERMELON *click click click click* KOOL-AID!!!

[Chaos13666]

i spitted on my screen

[23hyperdunkz]

@Chaos13666 spat*

[northen20]

@Chaos13666 same here spat everywhere XD

[kerlifan1011]

@Chaos13666 haha same here

[ColeaOlea]

@Chaos13666 I wonder if we both did it on the same sound.

All over my keyboard at the 2 minute mark.