Clicks, Concurrency and Khoisan

I propose that the notions of segment and phoneme be enriched to allow, even in classical theories, some concurrent clustering. My main application is the Khoisan language !Xoo, where by treating clicks as phonemes concurrent with phonemic accompaniments, the inventory size is radically reduced, so solving the problems of many unsupported contrasts. I show also how phonological processes of !Xoo can be described more elegantly in this setting, and provide support from metalinguistic evidence and experiment evidence of production tasks. I describe a new allophony in !Xoo. I go on to discuss other, some rather speculative, applications of the concept of concurrent phoneme. The article also provides a comprehensive review of the segmental phonetics and phonology of !Xoo, together with previous analyses.