Why the Whistling Language El Silbo of la Gomera Is a Fascinating Example of Human Brain Adaptability When It Comes to Language Processing

Lukas Kamenski, M.D.

Introduction

El Silbo Gomero (translates to "the whistle of Gomera") is whistled by around 20000 people on the remote island of La Gomera (part of the Canary Islands) and is even a compulsory subject in the local schools since 1999. It was recognized as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO in 2009 (UNESCO, 2010). The whistles can be heard up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) of distance and they were an important means of communication among shepherds in the steep valleys of the islands before the advent of modern-day electronic communication. The language is thought to have originated from the native population of the island, Los Guanches, and to have later been adopted and modified by the Spanish settlers that recognized its usefulness for certain situations (Busnel & Classe, 1976).

El Silbo Gomero fulfils the primary purpose of language by common definition because it is a means of conveying information and not emotion. It is, naturally, primarily meant for public communication. The language uses a combination of two different notes to express vocals and four different notes for consonants of the underlying language, in this case Spanish. The single notes are distinguishable from one another by pitch, pitch direction, duration and pauses (Deutsche Welle, 2021).

El Silbo as example of brain adaptability

In their paper from 2005 Carreiras et al. have shown through fMR imaging that El Silbo Gomero is processed in the same areas of the brain as standard language (Wernicke's area of the left brain hemisphere in right-handed individuals) and not in parts of the brain where music is normally processed (right brain hemisphere in right-handed individuals). However, this is only true for proficient Silbo Gomero "speakers" and not for the control group that doesn't know Silbo Gomero. This control group possibly perceives the whistle primarily as a kind of strange music and not language. Taken together, these facts support the view that, even from a neuroscientific point of view, this whistling language can be indeed seen as a language and not music (but only for its proficient speakers) and that the human brain is incredibly versatile when it comes to language processing.

One other thing I find extremely interesting about Silbo Gomero is that by using frequency and rhythm modulation as primary means of transferring information, the possibility of conveying emotional subtext at the same time as information is lost or at least greatly diminished. This fact makes its application in a more general social context possibly unsuitable and might have contributed for the language to not have spread around the globe as others did, e.g. English.

References:

UNESCO (2010). Sector for Culture (Editor): Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Paris

Busnel, René-Guy; Classe, André (1976). Whistled Languages. Communications and Cybernetics. Vol. 13. Springer-Verlag.

Deutsche Welle (2021). The Ancient Whistled Language Of La Gomera - Silbo Gomero | Europe To The Maxx. Retrieved from youtube.com 2/18/2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfGwFM9-wFk

Carreiras, M., Lopez, J., Rivero, F., & Corina, D. (2005). Neural processing of a whistled language. Nature, 433(7021), 31-32.

The above blog entry was adapted from an assignment for my Berklee Online course Music Cognition with Professor Susan Rogers, PhD