Episode Details

That rhythmic tongue-click people make at babies — it's everywhere, from West Africa to the Caribbean to South Asia. But what actually is it? In this episode, we break down the phonetics of the lateral click, the tiny vacuum chamber it creates in your mouth, and why its sharp acoustic onset and rhythmic pulse are perfectly tuned to the infant auditory system. We also explore why Anglo baby-talk drifted toward vowel-heavy cooing, how clicks may be among the oldest consonants in human speech, and what the cluck reveals about how we engage babies across cultures.