El Silbo

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La Gomera's location in the Canary Islands
A gomero whistles Silbo Gomero
Audio sample

Silbo Gomero [ ˈsilβo ] ( Silbo Spanish : whistle ) is a communication system through which acoustic features of a spoken language are represented by whistles. Silbo Gomero is now based on the Spanish language and is mainly used on the Spanish Canary Island of La Gomera . UNESCO assumes more than 20,000 "Silbadores" (users of the Silbo Gomero).

description

When whistled "speaking", the sounds of a language, which are usually generated by the vocal folds and modulated in the mouth, throat and nasal cavities, are generated by whistles with the lips, the oral cavity and, to increase the volume, occasionally the fingers will be replaced. This way of “speaking” is known for more than 40 languages. The "whistling languages" are always linked to the spoken source language. This type, which is also called "whistled speech" (Spanish Lenguaje silbado; English whistled speech), enables communication over a distance of several kilometers.

Silbo Gomero builds on three characteristics of the whistle: volume, pitch and interruption. Two vowels and four consonants can be reproduced. The ambiguities arising from the reduction must be eliminated through the context of the text. Further changes to the Spanish source language are made by simplifying the grammar, e.g. B. by eliminating various past tenses.

historical development

The first references to Silbo Gomero can be found in the Chronicle Le Canarien , in which two French clergy document the conquest of the Canary Islands on behalf of the Crown of Castile. It says there: “... the country is inhabited by many people who speak the strangest language of all other countries in this area. They only speak with their lips as if they had no tongue. ”While the language of the indigenous people was the basis of communication in Silbo until the conquest of the Canary Islands in the 15th century, the sounds of the Spanish language were later adapted. This communication system was not limited to the island of La Gomera, but also existed on Tenerife. It is known that the Old Canarians whistled loudly when fighting began on all islands. It is not known whether it was only about "war cries" or also about the transmission of messages.

Many travelers in the 19th century reported on Silbo Gomero. In 1976, Silbo Gomero was hardly used anymore. The first scientifically based work on Silbo Gomero was created in 1978 by Ramón Trujillo Carreño. In the following years the Cabildo Insular of La Gomera and the governments of the Autonomous Community of Canarias promoted the Silbo Gomero both financially through courses and by highlighting its historical importance through appropriate measures. In 2008, Silbo Gomero was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in Spain . In 2009 Silbo Gomero was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Silbo Gomero is now a compulsory subject in all schools on the island of La Gomera. Courses are offered in the other Canary Islands. In June 2018, the Rector of the University of La Laguna and the President of the Cabildos of La Gomera signed an agreement to work together to establish a chair for Silbo Gomero. This should serve the scientific research and the training of teachers for the subject Silbo.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UNESCO Sector for Culture (Ed.): Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity . Paris 2010 (English, [1] [PDF; accessed January 24, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Julien Meyer whistled Languages - A Worldwide Inquiry on Human whistled speech . Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg 2015, ISBN 978-3-662-45836-5 , pp. 182 (Spanish).
  3. ↑ Eduardo Aznar: Le Canarien: Retrato de dos mundos I. Textos . In: Eduardo Aznar, Dolores Corbella, Berta Pico, Antonio Tejera (eds.): Le Canarien: retrato de dos mundos (=  Fontes Rerum Canarium ). tape XLII . Instituto de Estudios Canarios, La Laguna 2006, ISBN 84-88366-58-2 , p. 129 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ Guiliana van Neerven: El silbo gomero; ¿Una lengua o sistema de Comunicación derivado? Ed .: Universiteit van Utrecht. Utrecht 2012, p. 5 (Spanish, [2] [accessed January 24, 2017]).
  5. ^ Ramón Trujillo: El Silbo Gomero. Análisis lingüístico . Ed .: Instituto Andrés Bello. Editorial Interinsular Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1978, ISBN 84-85543-03-3 (Spanish).
  6. ^ Moisés Plasencia Martín: El silbo gomero. Tradición viva de la cultura canaria y Patrimonio de la Humanidad . In: Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural . tape 5 , no. 1 , 2007, ISSN  1695-7121 , p. 38 (Spanish, [3] [PDF; accessed January 24, 2017]).
  7. ↑ ANUNCIO de 27 de junio de 2008, for the que se somete a información pública el Decreto de 26 de junio de 2008, que incoa expediente de Declaración de Bien de Interés Cultural a favor del silbo gomero. In: Boletín Oficial de Canarias núm. 142 July 16, 2008, accessed September 14, 2012 (Spanish).
  8. ^ Nomination for inscription on the Representative List in 2009
  9. ↑ La ULL pone en marcha su cátedra cultural sobre silbo gomero para garantizar rigor científico y divulgación. Universidad de La Laguna, June 18, 2018, accessed November 25, 2018 (Spanish).

literature

  • Ramón Trujillo: El Silbo Gomero. Análisis lingüístico . Ed .: Instituto Andrés Bello. Editorial Interinsular Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1978, ISBN 84-85543-03-3 (Spanish).
  • Ramón Trujillo Carreño: The Gomeran Whistle (El Silbo Gomero) . Editorial Interinsular Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 1990, ISBN 84-85543-03-3 (English, [4] [accessed January 24, 2017] English Translation and Index by Jeff Brent).
  • Julien Meyer: Typology and acoustic strategies of whistled languages: Phonetic comparison and perceptual cues of whistled vowels . In: Journal of the International Phonetic Association . tape 38 , no. 1 , 2008, ISSN  0025-1003 , p. 69-94 (English).
  • Guiliana van Neerven: El silbo gomero; ¿Una lengua o sistema de Comunicación derivado? Ed .: Universiteit van Utrecht. Utrecht 2012, p. 31 (Spanish, [5] [accessed January 24, 2017]).
  • ANUNCIO de 27 de junio de 2008, por el que se somete a información pública el Decreto de 26 de junio de 2008, que incoa expediente de Declaración de Bien de Interés Cultural a favor del silbo gomero. In: Boletín Oficial de Canarias núm. 142 July 16, 2008, accessed September 14, 2012 (Spanish).
  • UNESCO Sector for Culture (Ed.): Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity . Paris 2010, p. 170 (English, [6] [PDF; accessed January 24, 2017]).

Web links

Commons : El Silbo  - collection of images, videos and audio files