Silbo Gomero language

Spoken in

The whistling language is the implementation of a common spoken language in Pfeiflaute ( Just as a script that converts the spoken languages ​​in visual characters).

Silbo [el silβo ] (Spanish for " the whistle " ) refers to the whistling language of the Guanches, the original inhabitants of the Canary Islands. One form of it has been preserved on the island of La Gomera.

The exact origins of the whistling language are not unique. Maybe she's been brought by tribes from the Atlas Mountains in present-day Morocco to the Canaries. What is certain is that two French missionaries in a magazine called Le Canaries a strange tribe mentioned in 1413 on the islands, " who speaks only with his lips ." At that time Silbo was also common on El Hierro and Tenerife, but in the language of the Guanches, the Guanche. It was not until the conquest of the archipelago caught in Spanish.

Silbo arose from the need to agree on the many deep and wide canyons of the volcanic islands. Back in the 15th century, the native population using Silbo could protect against the Spanish conquerors and pirate raids. Those who Silbo used and still use today, called Silbadores ( the piper ). Even in the Spanish Civil War, the men who dominated the whistling language, were used on the front of both sides messaging.

In Silbo is a language whose meaning-differentiating elements are articulated as whistles certain pitch and length. It is used in many variations with the help of pitch and volume, only two vowels and four consonants. Nevertheless, one can describe with Silbo everything. It is the loudest form of communication that requires no tools; the range, depending on the wind direction, amount to eight to ten kilometers. The technique consists of index and middle fingers are placed in the mouth. The sounds created with the help of the tongue, when at the same time be tipped lips in discharging the air or stretching the width. With the other hand, the sound can be moved in a certain direction.

UNESCO has Silbo 1982 on the list of protected world cultural heritage. In September 1999, the Canary Island Government has introduced in all primary schools on the island of La Gomera El Whistling as an elective. Following a decision of the Ministry of Education of the Canary Islands from February 2014 can be taught as a compulsory subject from the academic year 14/15 at La Gomera El Silbo.

Pfeifsprachen are (or were ) also available in the Pyrenees, Morocco, Mexico, Thailand and Turkey; exist worldwide an estimated 60 different Pfeifsprachen.