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Silbo Gomero, the Whistling Language of La Gomera
The Canary Islands lie off the southwest coast of Spain. Though Castilian Spanish is the official language of the island chain, some adults on the island of La Gomera still use Silbo Gomero, an ancient language that's "spoken" through whistles. In fact, Silbo (taken from the Spanish word silbar, "to whistle") boasts a vocabulary of more than 4000 words that can be heard from miles away, which is useful considering the island's rugged, hilly terrain. With only four vowels and four consonants, the key to understanding Silbo is understanding the nuances and meanings of the various tones of whistles.
According to Sarah Andrews, Silbo was most likely first used as an emergency signal, but over time, it developed into a full language. Over the years, of course, the language all but disappeared, but recently, it's made a comeback. In fact, the government is trying to resurrect the whistling language by teaching it in schools.
Want to learn more?
According to Sarah Andrews, Silbo was most likely first used as an emergency signal, but over time, it developed into a full language. Over the years, of course, the language all but disappeared, but recently, it's made a comeback. In fact, the government is trying to resurrect the whistling language by teaching it in schools.
Want to learn more?
- Check out J. Brent's online coursebook.
- Listen to a short online conversation.
- Hear Silbo in person. Demonstrations are given daily at Las Rosas.
- Watch this 2-minute video, which describes the island of La Gomera entirely in Silbo.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Learning, Europe
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
awf Mar 26th 2007 3:59PM
"The Canary Islands lie off the southwest coast of Spain."
Just wanted to chime in that maybe "off the northwestern coast of Africa" would be more accurate when describing the location of these islands. Africa is, after all, much closer.
Anyway, La Gomera is definitely worth a visit especially if you're into hiking (don't miss the beautiful laurisilva forest in the center of the island) and/or just want to enjoy near perfect climate and beautiful scenery.
John May 17th 2007 7:15AM
I understand the government is taking measures to save the nearlly extinct language by teaching the younger adults to learn the language, But really that would not really help that much. Because, they just will forget and never use the language. i think they should take an account to make the raod signs, street names n labells the actual language.