Lesson 9 The Whistle Language of La Gomera

Andre Classe

The natives of La Gomera can carry on long-distance conversations by whistling.For ordinary conversation they speak Spanish. But when they need to speak over a distance and ordinary speech is impossible, they use the silbo. This is the name of a whistled form of speech.

La Gomera is one of the smaller Canary Islands. It is very mountainous, for it was once a volcano. The island is almost round in shape, with a high peak in the center.

From this peak, deep, narrow gorges, separated by rocky ridges[1], run down to the coast like the spokes[2] of a wheel. So in spite of the island’s small size, walking from one place to another may be a slow and difficult job. That is why the silbo is so useful to the natives. A message can easily be whistled over a couple of miles, while to travel that same distance on foot might take an hour.

A good whistler, or silbador, can be heard and understood five miles away. His whistling can be heard even farther away when conditions are favorable—when there is little or no wind. I was informed that the record is about nine miles. Anyone who has heard a first-class silbador will agree that this figure is quite possible.

Not only does a whistle carry farther than a shout, but it is easier to understand.When a person shouts, he cannot pronounce his words well. But in whistling, this problem does not exist. If a whistle is heard at all, it will be heard clearly.

Many methods of whistling are used at La Gomera. The only one never used is the common lip whistle, because it is not loud enough. Usually a silbador inserts one or two fingers, or a bent knuckle[3], into his mouth. He keeps the front of his tongue still,and his lips spread and stiff. With some practice, this method of whistling can make a tone of astonishing loudness and purity, with great carrying power and a range of about three octaves[4]. No one silbador ever uses the entire range.

Usually a whistler’s range is no more than two octaves. In the eastern part of the island, most silbadors whistle in the upper range. On other parts of the island, they whistle in the lower range.

Some whistlers do not use their fingers at all. Instead, they form a groove[5]in the front part of the tongue which touches the upper front teeth. They then use their hands to form a kind of megaphone.

There is nothing very unusual about these methods of whistling. Anyone with a good set of teeth can learn in a couple of days to produce a noise that sounds much like a steam whistle. The really remarkable thing is that this simple noise can be used as a language.

A whistle is a pure and practically unchanging tone. It varies only in pitch[6] and length. It does not have all the variations of tone that are so important to spoken speech.To achieve variations, the silbador tries to perform the same movements with his teeth,mouth, tongue, and throat that he would use if he were actually talking. Of course he cannot move his lips during the whistling, so there is some difference. However, it is close enough. Anything that can be said in Spanish can be whistled and understood perfectly.

A simple example will show how the whistle language works. If we whistle a few notes—do, mi, so—we notice that as the pitch goes up, the tongue rises in the mouth.

Suppose we try to pronounce the vowel[7] sound ee (as in beet). The free part of the tongue rises, and the pitch of our whistle will be high. Suppose we try to pronounce the sound a (as in father). The tongue goes down, and the pitch of the whistle will be much lower than in the first case. Thus, in whistling vowels, pitch takes the place of the tone of the spoken vowel.

The whistling of consonants[8], such as t, is more complex. It involves both the pitch and the duration of the whistled tone. Some consonants sound very much like others when they are whistled, but this seldom causes any trouble. When doubtful words are used in a sentence, their meanings become clear.

The silbo may sound very different from ordinary speech, but it has many of the characteristics of a spoken word. For example, each silbador has his own individual style of whistling, just as he has his own way of speaking. You can recognize him by his whistling just as you would recognize him by the way he spoke.

For the natives of La Gomera, using the silbo is perfectly natural. It is on record that on Christmas Day, 1862, the mayor of San Sebastina (the capital of La Gomera)locked the doors of the church to keep the shepherds out because they had ignored his order not to whistle the words of the psalms during the church service.

The silbo can be used to say everything—anything that is speakable in Spanish is also “whistlable”. This is true partly because the Spanish language has such a simple sound system. The silbo would not work nearly so well with English.

(895 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Grasp the main idea] The author wrote this article in order to___________ .

A. preserve a fast-disappearing custom

B. create interest in the island of La Gomera

C. describe an unusual means of communicating

2. [See the result] For a loud, clear whistle one needs the___________ .

A. hands and lips B. lips and tongue C. teeth and tongue

3. [Evaluate the information] Consonants that sound alike can be told apart when___________ .

A. the entire sentence has been heard

B. the silbador gestures with his hands

C. they are whistled loud enough

4. [Give the reason] Natives of La Gomera would not need the whistle language if they had___________ .

A. phonographs B. megaphones C. telephones

5. [Give the reason] Silbadors in the eastern part of the island whistle in the upper range___________ .

A. because of an old custom

B. because of a different method of whistling

C. for a reason not given

6. [Check the details] The whistled language is useful to La Gomera natives because of the island’s___________ .

A. surface B. size C. location

7. [Note the fact] In the silbo, vowels are sounded by___________ .

A. varying the volume from soft to loud

B. changing the speed of whistling

C. making the whistle higher or lower

8. [Draw a conclusion] To be easily whistlable, a language should have___________ .

A. easy grammar B. few vowels C. simple sounds

Ⅱ. Read for words:

1. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined words.

(1) I was informed that the record is about nine miles. (Para. 3)

A. best-known performance B. disk on which sound is stored C. written account

(2) He keeps the front of his tongue still, and his lips spread and stiff. (Para. 5)

A. stretched out B. covered with something C. scattered thinly

(3) This method of whistling can make a tone of purity, with a range of about three octaves. (Para. 5)

A. area of grazing land B. cooking stove C. full extent

2. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined expressions.

(1) The tongue goes down, and the pitch of the whistle will be much lower than in the first case. (Para. 10)

A. falls B. gets worse in quality C. leaves

(2) Thus, in whistling vowels, pitch takes the place of the tone of the spoken vowel (Para. 10)

A. happens B. replaces C. goes to the place

Ⅲ. Writing practice:

In not more than 150 words describe the whistle language of La Gomera. Do not include anything that is not in the passage.

Answer these questions in note form to get your points:

1. How can the natives of La Gomera carry on long-distance conversations?

2. What is the silbo?

3. Why is the silbo so useful to the natives?

4. How far can a good whistler be heard?

5. Compared with shouting, what’s the advantage of whistling?

6. What do whistlers use to produce a whistle?

7. What language does the silbo work well with? Why?

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