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Silbo Gomero



The island of La Gomera in the Canaries has a whistled language called Silbo Gomero, which replicates the islanders' native language with whistling. Since its evolution over several centuries, it has been handed down from master to pupil. It is the only whistled language in the world practiced by a large community, having more than 22,000 inhabitants. It was historically used to communicate across deep ravines and narrow valleys that radiate through the island. Silbo Gomero enabled communication over a distance of up to five kilometers. It was used mostly for public communication since it was loud and could convey messages from event invitations to public information advisories. Silbo Gomero speakers were sometimes referred to in Spanish as silbadors (whistlers).

Each word in the whistled language is replaced by a whistling sound. Two distinct whistles replace the five Spanish vowels, and four distinct whistles are used for the four consonants. There are two types of whistles: interrupted and continuous. Whistled language can be used to convey any message. Some local variations point to their origin. It is a complicated language to learn, and the whistling techniques require physical precision, as well as physical strength. This strength can only be acquired through practice. Silbo Gomero is used on the tongue, lips, and hands of the users, contrasting greatly with conventional language, which uses the mouth cavity to blend and contrast the various acoustic frequencies. By contrast, the whistling mechanism can only produce a single basic pitch of between 1,000 and 3,000 hertz.

There is little information available about the original Guanche language or the languages of the Canaries. However, it is assumed that their phonological system was simple enough to accommodate a whistled language. The Guanches were the original inhabitants of the island before the arrival of Spanish settlers. They used the whistled language, Silbo, to communicate, and it was also spoken in El Hierro, Tenerife, and Gran Cana. In the early 16th century, Spanish settlers began adjusting Silbo to Spanish, and it became widely spoken in the late 17th century. In 1976, Silbo was barely spoken in El Hierro, where it had flourished in the late 19th century. One reason for the declining use of the language was economic decline, which forced many residents to relocate away from the language to find better jobs. Technological developments, such as the telephone, also contributed to the decline in the practicality and utility of the language.

Having been taught in schools since 1999, Silbo Gomero is understood by almost all islanders and is practiced by the majority, especially the elderly and young. It is also utilized during festive and ceremonial occasions, including religious occasions. The Silbo Gomero is an intangible cultural heritage that La Gomera people and the Canaries as a whole treasure. To prevent it from disappearing as have other whistled languages of the Canary Islands, it is important to promote Silbo Gomero as an intangible cultural heritage.

References

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