The Click Song

Posted by Adam Stanhope in Music, Video Clips on May 27, 2007 at 5:06 pm


The Click Song

Any fellow language geeks out there?

Having been a student of English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai and Lao I consider myself to be somewhat of a language geek. I’ve always been fascinated by the tonal “click” languages of Africa, especially Xhosa.

The Click Song is a famous Xhosa song performed for years by Miriam Makeba, a beloved South African singer.

YouTube has several videos of her performing “The Click Song.” Here are two, from 1966 and 1979.


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6 comments to "The Click Song"

  1. Dave
    May 27th, 2007 at 5:46 pm

    That is so cool! The 1979 version, with her lead-in explanation, is especially great. "... it isn't a 'noise'; it's my language!"

  2. Oliver
    May 27th, 2007 at 6:50 pm

    I'm quite familiar with this language, as my dad is a native South African and has a pretty good knowledge of it. :)

  3. Alex
    May 28th, 2007 at 12:05 am

    How widely is the "click" sound found in African languages? If memory serves, the !Kung language also has the same sound.

  4. Kat
    May 28th, 2007 at 11:50 am

    Come and see The Lion King. Tshidi Manye (Rafiki) can "click" like the true South African woman she is. Almost 85% of the cast is from South Africa and their language is used during the show.

  5. Sooz
    May 30th, 2007 at 7:22 am

    This song is awesome... My future mother in law is actually friends with her.... She is an amazing woman.

  6. Scat
    June 1st, 2007 at 8:50 pm

    I had a workmate who was South African and could speak Zulu....it was pretty amazing


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