Khoisan click language
Why Worldbuilding Stack Exchange recommends it
Worldbuilding Stack Exchange users link it as a real example of click-based speech when discussing how alien or non-human creatures might produce spoken language.
Recommended by 0 people across 0 different months, 2018 to 2021.
What it is
A 91-second clip, uploaded in 2013, of a San man in the Kalahari region of central Namibia describing in his Khoisan language how a certain grass is used. The language is notable for its click consonants, so the clip works as a short audio and visual sample of them.
What people said
Cites Etaila · 2018-06 · Worldbuilding Stack Exchange · on “Creating a scientifically semi-valid super-soldier, part 8: Communication”
At first I would try to avoid everything long range, simply because every enemy could use that to locate your soldier and even "read" their communication. So Bioluminescence and Radio is definetly a bad idea, since it would inform every enemy about the presence of your soilders and how far away they are. Edit after request: Why do we use radio but it is a bad idea for a hunter species. At first, radio is already a big problem today and was in past wars. One of the biggest examples is "The Bomb" from Alan Touring. "The bomb" was a huge calculating machine, in WW2, that was used to calculate the enigma codes, which was used to encode the German communication, including radio communication. Aft
Cites JBH · 2018-12 · Worldbuilding Stack Exchange · on “How could a species that breathes through its skin develop spoken language?”
Humans often breathe through their nose and yet we talk just fine. Fish breathe through their gills and yet make noise through their mouths (underwater, but still relevant). So, the real question is: How do your cretaures eat? If they eat solids, then you need to deal with the gagging/coughing reflex to clear the old food tube (and, if I remember my high school physiology class correctly, you also need to deal with pressure equalization). That means lungs (unless you always use vomit, but all that acid wouldn't be evolutionarily sanguine, ifyouknowwhatImean). Where there are lungs, there is the potential for spoken language. But! If your creatures don't eat solids (for example, nutrients thr
Cites Matthew · 2021-06 · Worldbuilding Stack Exchange · on “Human-level Vocalization through insect-like methods. Possible or absurd?”
Again, what do you mean by "words"? There are *human* languages that prominently feature clicks [LINK] . An "insect" might manage something like this [this video] , and this [LINK] is *certainly* plausible. Conceivably, a human can learn to understand these, but they would sound *very* alien to, say, a European or an American. (Then there are drum languages [LINK] ...)