Languages at Risk: Sylbo

 There are various different ways of communicating.  There is nonverbal communication, there is verbal communication, there are click languages, and there are whistling languages.  Hold the phone, say what?  Yes, there are a handful of languages that involve a series of whistles.  Many of these languages are located in Africa and on several Mediterranean Islands, but one can be found on the island of La Gomera, which is part of the Spanish Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa.  Today’s blog post will discuss the whistle language indigenous to this island, Sylbo.  This language’s history, composition, and current status will be addressed herein.

The origins of Sylbo are not precisely known, but it is believed to have come from a language spoken by the Guanches, the original inhabitants of La Gomera.  The Guanches are believed to have originated from Africa based on historical linguistic studies of the Sylbo language.  It is believed Sylbo was in part derived from Africa given the number of whistle languages found on the continent.  Archaeological evidence suggests the Guanches came to the island in the 14^th century, followed by the Spanish a hundred years later.  

The Spanish incorporated the Guanches’ language into their own because of its utility.  The language, being made up of a series of whistles that vary in pitch and can be differentiated by length of sound, was very useful for producing sounds that could travel great distances, which was useful on the steep terrain of the island.  Shouting verbal statements could easily be lost, whereas whistles could be easily and clearly interpreted.  Sylbo today is characterized as a Spanish language where vowels are replaced by whistles accompanied with a specific number of consonants.  This creates a unique sound (that you can listen to here).

Sylbo was popularly used until the 1960s.  It reached its peak popularity throughout the 1940s and 1950s when it was used as a language of resistance against the Spanish government.  Government officials would round up locals to combat fires on the island, but this work would go unpaid.  The locals did not agree with these unpaid labor practices, and they used Sylbo, a language the official did not understand, as a means of communicating with each other to forewarn others of the official’s arrival.  The language began to die out as a result of the changing economic climate on the island, which forced locals to leave for better opportunities off the island.  The language was on the verge of extinction when renewed interest in the language came about in the 1990s.  Today, the Spanish government sponsors educational programming through the schools, making it mandatory to teach Sylbo.  This is done in part to keep the language alive and reinforce the local heritage but also to keep the tourist industry thriving as Sylbo draws tourists to the island.

In conclusion, there are several different types of communicating throughout the globe, and Sylbo is just one of many unique languages spoken, or whistled rather.  The origins and creation of Sylbo demonstrates the complex history of the people of La Gomera, and the Spanish government’s sponsorship of language programs also provides insights into the culture of the islanders. 

References Cited

DHWTY.  2015.  “A Unique Form of Ancient Communication: The Whistling Island of La Gomera.”  Ancient Origins.net http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/unique-form-ancient-communication-whistling-island-la-gomera-002892

Plitt, L.  2013.  “Silbo gomero: A Whistling Language Revived.”  BBC News.  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20953138

Steve the Vagabond.  2016.  “The Last Speakers of the Lost Whistling Language, Sylbo.”  Silly Linguistics.  http://sillylinguistics.com/2016/02/23/the-last-speakers-of-the-lost-whistling-language-sylbo/

Time.  2013.  Sylbo, The Last Speakers of the Lost Whistling Language.  Video.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0CIRCjoICA