3 Phonetics-Related Q's

Hey all!

I've got some phonetics-related questions:

1.   What are "sonorants"?
2.   Why is the [r\] at the end of words (American English) often
transcribed as [@`] in dictionaries? Where is the difference? I know the
little hook i sf ro indicating rhoticity -- are there other
vowels/consonants/sounds in general that can be rhoticized?
3.   Did clicks arise through affricates? I don't know why affricates,
but something in my mind tells me so.

Thanks,
Carsten

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