Alveolar click

Okay, kiddo, do you know how we make sounds when we speak or sing? We use our mouth, tongue, and voice box to make different noises. One of these noises is called an "alveolar click."

To make an alveolar click, we start by putting the tip of our tongue against the roof of our mouth, just behind our top front teeth. Then, we pull the tongue back quickly, creating a suction that makes a popping sound.

When we make this popping sound, it's like a little explosion of air in our mouth. It's a very quick sound, like a "tsk" or "tch" noise. Some languages, like Xhosa and Zulu in South Africa, use alveolar clicks as actual speech sounds.

So, that's what an alveolar click is - a popping sound made by quickly pulling the tongue back from the roof of our mouth. Pretty cool, huh?