TIL of Silbo Gomero (informally called Silbo), a whistling language originating from La Gomera, part of the Canary Islands under Spanish rule.

Silbo/Sylbo language in action (link).

While the community of La Gomera speak Spanish, Silbo is a required subject for La Gomera students, and considered a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. They had to resort to such communication as the terrain (mostly ravines and valleys) usually made direct, face-to-face communication inconvenient and impractical. Think of it this way: going to your neighbor the next mountain over for some juicy Maritess time is tiring, so might as well whistle it instead!

The Silbo language was almost made extinct due to advancements in technology, but thankfully, government intervention has kept the language alive and well, albeit a small fraction of the whole Spanish population only using it (Canary Islands).

The whistled language replaces each vowel or consonant with a whistling sound: two distinct whistles replace the five Spanish vowels, and there are four whistles for consonants.

Although the Silbo language is basically Spanish converted to whistle, according to the teacher in the youtube video linked above, theoretically one can use their own language. Just apply the necessary phonetic/audio rules (sorry don’t know the exact term) and you’re golden.

Absolutely fascinating language based on sounds alone!

Have a great weekend mga Phlemmings.

whistles Magbalik intro in Silbo

EDIT: Holy Shit, Turkey also has such a language! It’s called kuş dili literally Turkish Bird Language.

Vice has a mini-documentary on the subject. I’ve gotta say parang ibon talaga.

Absolutely fascinating.