El Silbo Gomero - An Ancient Language Evolved
Abstract
Language makes up our identity through tradition and culture. How we communicate in terms of language varies in form and style. The whistling language, El Silbo Gomero, is heard and practiced by the residents of the Canary Islands located in La Gomera. It is not a substitute but a complement to the spoken language that already exists. The whistle makes a sweet tweet and musicality that is quite similar to sounds of birds making it quite easy for the residents of La Gomera to communicate and be heard in their noisy, outdoor environment. The loudness and frequency of the whistle is much more appropriate to utilize than the spoken/shouted voice due to the “Lombard Effect” — a phenomenon in which the shouted voice will reach it’s “biological limit” quite quickly and the external noise will not allow it to be heard. Humans do not have the extended capacity to withstand and continue the intensity of volume and breath in voice projection over such a vast distance and long-time intervals. This paper provides perspectives from various studies that have researched the whistling language in terms of the phonetics, pitch, tone, projection, and neural processing. Even in today’s day and age, El Silbo Gomero is still being taught and practiced by the youth of the islands. It has become an international language that should be preserved as it is now a piece of art and heritage essential to the identity and traditions of past ancestors.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. James Doan
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Shermany Library
Start Date
4-5-2019 1:00 PM
End Date
4-5-2019 5:00 PM
El Silbo Gomero - An Ancient Language Evolved
Alvin Shermany Library
Language makes up our identity through tradition and culture. How we communicate in terms of language varies in form and style. The whistling language, El Silbo Gomero, is heard and practiced by the residents of the Canary Islands located in La Gomera. It is not a substitute but a complement to the spoken language that already exists. The whistle makes a sweet tweet and musicality that is quite similar to sounds of birds making it quite easy for the residents of La Gomera to communicate and be heard in their noisy, outdoor environment. The loudness and frequency of the whistle is much more appropriate to utilize than the spoken/shouted voice due to the “Lombard Effect” — a phenomenon in which the shouted voice will reach it’s “biological limit” quite quickly and the external noise will not allow it to be heard. Humans do not have the extended capacity to withstand and continue the intensity of volume and breath in voice projection over such a vast distance and long-time intervals. This paper provides perspectives from various studies that have researched the whistling language in terms of the phonetics, pitch, tone, projection, and neural processing. Even in today’s day and age, El Silbo Gomero is still being taught and practiced by the youth of the islands. It has become an international language that should be preserved as it is now a piece of art and heritage essential to the identity and traditions of past ancestors.
