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Whistledlanguage
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Whistledlanguagesusewhistlingtoemulatespeechandfacilitatecommunication.Awhistledlanguage
isasystemofwhistledcommunicationwhichallowsfluentwhistlerstotransmitandcomprehenda
potentiallyunlimitednumberofmessagesoverlongdistances.Whistledlanguagesaredifferentinthis
respectfromtherestrictedcodessometimesusedbyherdersoranimaltrainerstotransmitsimple
messagesorinstructions.Generally,whistledlanguagesemulatethetonesorvowelformantsofanatural
spokenlanguage,aswellasaspectsofitsintonationandprosody,sothattrainedlistenerswhospeakthat
languagecanunderstandtheencodedmessage.Englishspeakersexperiencesomethingsimilarwhen
theylistentosinewavespeech.[1]
Whistledlanguageisrarecomparedtospokenlanguage,butitisfoundinculturesaroundtheworld.Itis
especiallycommonintonelanguageswherethewhistledtonestransmitthetonesofthesyllables(tone
melodiesofthewords).Thismightbebecauseintonelanguagesthetonemelodycarriesmoreofthe
functionalloadofcommunicationwhilenontonalphonologycarriesproportionallyless.Thegenesisof
awhistledlanguagehasneverbeenrecordedineithercaseandhasnotyetreceivedmuchproductive
study.

Contents
1 Techniques
2 Examples
2.1 InAfrica
3 Usageandculturalstatus
4 Ecology
5 Physics
6 Listofwhistledlanguages
7 Seealso
8 Notes
9 References
10 Externallinks

Techniques
Whistledlanguagesdifferaccordingtowhetherthespokenlanguageistonalornot,withthewhistling
beingeithertoneorarticulationbased(orboth).
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Tonallanguagesareoftenstrippedofarticulation,leavingonlysuprasegmentalfeaturessuchasduration
andtone,andwhenwhistledretainthespokenmelodicline.Thuswhistledtonallanguagesconvey
phonemicinformationsolelythroughtone,length,and,toalesserextent,stress,andmostsegmental
phonemicdistinctionsofthespokenlanguagearelost.
Innontonallanguages,moreofthearticulatoryfeaturesofspeechareretained,andthenormallytimbral
variationsimpartedbythemovementsofthetongueandsoftpalatearetransformedintopitch
variations.[2]Certainconsonantscanbepronouncedwhilewhistling,soastomodifythewhistledsound,
muchasconsonantsinspokenlanguagemodifythevowelsoundsadjacenttothem.
"Allwhistledlanguagesshareonebasiccharacteristic:theyfunctionbyvaryingthefrequencyofa
simplewaveformasafunctionoftime,generallywithminimaldynamicvariations,whichisreadily
understandablesinceinmostcasestheironlypurposeislongdistancecommunication."[2]
Differentwhistlingstylesmaybeusedinasinglelanguage.SochiapamChinantechasthreedifferent
32forbilabial
wordsforwhistlespeech:sie3forwhistlingwiththetongueagainstthealveolarridge,jui
whistling,andjuo2forfingerinthemouthwhistling.Theseareusedforcommunicationovervarying
distances.Thereisalsoakindofloudfalsetto(hh32)whichfunctionsinsomewayslikewhistled
speech.[3]
Thereareafewdifferenttechniquesofhowtoproducewhistlespeech,thechoiceofwhichisdependent
onpracticalconcerns.Bilabialandlabiodentaltechniquesarecommonforshortandmediumdistance
discussions(inamarket,inthenoiseofaroom,orforhunting)whereasthetongueretroflexed,oneor
twofingersintroducedinthemouth,ablowconcentratedatthejunctionbetweentwofingersorthe
lowerlippulledwhilebreathinginairaretechniquesusedtoreachhighlevelsofpowerforlong
distancespeaking.[4]Eachplacehasitsfavoritetrendthatdependsonthemostcommonuseofthe
villageandonthepersonalpreferencesofeachwhistler.Whistlingwithaleaforafluteisoftenrelated
tocourtshiporpoeticexpression(reportedintheKickapoolanguageinMexico[5]andintheHmong[6]
andAkha[7]culturesinAsia).
Whistlingtechniquesdonotrequirethevibrationofthevocalcords:theyproduceashockeffectofthe
compressedairstreaminsidethecavityofthemouthand/orofthehands.Whenthejawsarefixedbya
finger,thesizeoftheholeisstable.Theairstreamexpelledmakesvibrationsattheedgeofthemouth.
Thefastertheairstreamisexpelled,thehigheristhenoiseinsidethecavities.Ifthehole(mouth)and
thecavity(intraoralvolume)arewellmatched,theresonanceistuned,andthewhistleisprojectedmore
loudly.Thefrequencyofthisbioacousticalphenomenonismodulatedbythemorphingoftheresonating
cavitythatcanbe,toacertainextent,relatedtothearticulationoftheequivalentspokenform.[4]
Theexpressivityofwhistledspeechislikelytobesomewhatlimitedcomparedtospokenspeech
(althoughnotinherentlyso),butsuchaconclusionshouldnotbetakenasabsolute,asitdependsheavily
onvariousfactorsincludingthephonologyofthelanguage.Forexampleinsometonallanguageswith
fewtones,whistledmessagestypicallyconsistofstereotypedorotherwisestandardizedexpressions,are
elaboratelydescriptive,andoftenhavetoberepeated.However,inlanguageswhichareheavilytonal,
andthereforeconveymuchoftheirinformationthroughpitchevenwhenspoken,suchasMazatecand
Yoruba,extensiveconversationsmaybewhistled.Inanycase,evenfornontonallanguages,
measurementsindicatethathighintelligibilitycanbeachievedwithwhistledspeech(90%)of
intelligibilityofnonstandardizedsentencesforGreek[8]andtheequivalentforTurkish.[9]

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ThislackofunderstandingcanbeseeninsomethingcalledtheConfusionMatrix.Itwastestedusing
twospeakersofSilbo(Jampolsky1999).Thestudyrevealedthatgenerally,thevowelswererelatively
easytounderstand,andtheconsonantsabitmoredifficult.[10]
i e a o u
i 15

e 1

79 5

4 15 3

2 2

Confusionmatrixofthevowelsintheperceptiontest.'Produced'vowelsaredisplayedhorizontallyand'perceived'vowels
vertically(Numbersinboldcorrespondtocorrectidentications).

p f m t n s t
l r rr j k
p 7

3 1 1

m
t 1

1
3
11

1
1

2 1 1

l
r
rr
j

k 1

3
2

Confusionmatrixoftheconsonantsintheperceptiontest.'Produced'consonantsaredisplayedhorizontallyand'perceived'
consonantsvertically.(Numbersinboldcorrespondtocorrectidentications).

IncontinentalAfrica,speechmaybeconveyedbyawhistleorothermusicalinstrument,mostfamously
the"talkingdrums".However,whiledrumsmaybeusedbygriotssingingpraisesongsorforinter
villagecommunication,andotherinstrumentsmaybeusedontheradioforstationidentificationjingles,
forregularconversationatadistancewhistledspeechisused.Astwopeopleapproacheachother,one
mayevenswitchfromwhistledtospokenspeechinmidsentence.

Examples
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SilboontheislandofLaGomeraintheCanaryIslands,basedonSpanish,isoneofthebeststudied
whistledlanguages.Thenumberofdistinctivesoundsorphonemesinthislanguageisamatterof
disagreement,varyingaccordingtotheresearcherfromtwotofivevowelsandfourtonineconsonants.
Thisvariationmayreflectdifferencesinspeakers'abilitiesaswellasinthemethodsusedtoelicit
contrasts.TheworkofMeyer[8][11]clarifiesthisdebatebyprovidingthefirststatisticalanalysesof
productionforvariouswhistlersaswellaspsycholinguistictestsofvowelidentification.
OtherwhistledlanguagesexistorexistedinsuchpartsoftheworldasTurkey(Kuky,"Villageofthe
Birds"),[12][13]France(thevillageofAasinthePyrenees),Mexico(theMazatecsandChinantecsof
Oaxaca),SouthAmerica(Pirah),Asia(theChepangofNepal),andNewGuinea.Theyareespecially
commonandrobusttodayinpartsofWestAfrica,usedwidelyinsuchpopulouslanguagesasYoruba
andEwe.EvenFrenchiswhistledinsomeareasofwesternAfrica.

InAfrica
AswellastheCanaryIslands,whistledspeechoccursinsomepartsofSouthernAfricaandEastern
Africa.
Mostwhistlelanguages,ofwhichthereareseveralhundred,arebasedontonallanguages.
Onlythetoneofthespeechissavedinthewhistle,thingssuchasarticulationandphonationare
eliminated.Thesearereplacedbyotherfeaturessuchasstressandrhythmicalvariations.However,
somelanguages,likethatoftheZezuruwhospeakaShonaderiveddialect,includearticulationsothat
consonantsinterrupttheflowofthewhistle.AsimilarlanguageistheTsongawhistlelanguageusedin
thehighlandsintheSouthernpartsofMozambique.
ThisshouldnotbeconfusedwiththewhistledsibilantsofShona.

Usageandculturalstatus
InearlyChina,thetechniqueoftranscendentalwhistlingwasakindofnonverballanguagewith
affinitiestothespiritualaspectsofDaoistmeditation.[14]
IntheGreekvillageofAntia,onlyfewwhistlersremainnow[8]butin1982theentirepopulationknew
howtowhistletheirspeech.
Whistledspeechmaybeverycentralandhighlyvaluedinaculture.ShoutingisveryrareinSochiapam
Chinantec.Meninthatculturearesubjecttobeingfinediftheydonothandlewhistlespeechwell
enoughtoperformcertaintownjobs.Theymaywhistleforfuninsituationswherespokenspeechcould
easilybeheard.
InSochiapam,Oaxaca,andotherplacesinMexico,andreportedlyinWestAfricaaswell,whistled
speechismen'slanguage:althoughwomenmayunderstandit,theydonotuseit.
Thoughwhistledlanguagesarenotsecretcodesorsecretlanguages(withtheexceptionofawhistled
languageusedbyaigosinsurgenciesinCubaduringSpanishoccupation),[2]theymaybeusedfor
secretivecommunicationamongoutsidersorotherswhodonotknoworunderstandthewhistled
languagethoughtheymayunderstanditsspokenorigin.StoriesaretoldoffarmersinAasduringWorld
WarII,orinLaGomera,whowereabletohideevidenceofsuchnefariousactivitiesasmilkwatering
becausetheywerewarnedinwhistlespeechthatthepolicewereapproaching.[2]
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Ecology
Whistlelanguageshavenaturallydevelopedinresponsetothenecessityforhumanstocommunicatein
conditionsofrelativeisolation,withpossiblecausesbeingdistance,noiselevels,andnight,aswellas
specificactivities,suchassocialinformation,shepherding,hunting,fishing,courtship,orshamanism.[15]
Becauseofthisusage,theyaremostlyrelatedtoplaceswithmountainsordenseforests.SouthernChina,
PapuaNewGuinea,theAmazonforest,subsaharanAfrica,Mexico,andEuropeencompassmostof
theselocations.
TheyhavebeenmorerecentlyfoundindenseforestsliketheAmazonwheretheymayreplacespoken
dialoguesinthevillages,whilehuntingorfishingtoovercomethepressureoftheacoustic
environment.[8][11]Themainadvantageofwhistlingspeechisthatitallowsthespeakertocovermuch
largerdistances(typically12kilometres(0.621.24mi)butupto5km(3.1mi)inmountainsandless
inreverberatingforests)thanordinaryspeech,withoutthestrain(andlesserrange)ofshouting.More
specifically,whistlespeechcanreachaloudnessof130dB,andthetransmissionrangecanreachupto
10km(asverifiedinLaGomera,CanaryIsland).[16]Thelongrangeofwhistlingisenhancedbythe
mountainousterrainfoundinareaswherewhistledlanguagesareused.Manyareaswithsuchlanguages
workhardtopreservetheirancienttraditions,inthefaceofrapidlyadvancingtelecommunications
systemsinmanyareas.

Physics
Awhistledtoneisessentiallyasimpleoscillation(orsinewave),andthustimbralvariationsare
impossible.Normalarticulationduringanordinarylipwhistleisrelativelyeasythoughthelipsmove
littlecausingaconstantoflabializationandmakinglabialandlabiodentalconsonants(p,b,m,f,etc.)
problematical.[2]"Apartfromthefivevowelphonemes[ofSilboGomero]andeventhesedonot
invariablyhaveafixedorsteadypitchallwhistledspeechsoundrealizationsareglideswhichare
interpretedintermsofrange,contour,andsteepness."[2]
Therearetwodifferenttypesofwhistletonesholetonesandedgetones.Ahole(or'orice')toneis
producedbyafastmovingcylinder(or'venacontracta')ofairthatinteractswiththeslowmoving
anulusofairsurroundingit.[17]Instabilityintheboundarylayerleadstoperturbationsthatincreasein
sizeuntilafeedbackpathisestablishedwherebyspecificfrequenciesoftheresonancechamberare
emphasized.[18]Anedgetone,ontheotherhand,isgeneratedbyathinjetofairthatstrikesanobstacle.
Vorticesareshednearthepointofdisturbanceintheow,alternatingoneachsideoftheobstacleor
'wedge'.[19]
Awayinwhichtruewhistledlanguagesdifferfromothertypesofwhistledcommunicationisthatthey
encodeauditoryfeaturesofspokenlanguagesbytransposingkeycomponentsofspeechsounds.There
aretwotypesofwhistledlanguages:thosebasedonnontonelanguages,whichtransposeF2patterns
(dealingwithformants),andthosebasedontonelanguages,whichtransposetonemelodies.[20]
However,bothtypesofwhistletoneshaveaphonologicalstructurethatisrelatedtothespokenlanguage
thattheyaretransposing.
Inanontonallanguage,segmentsmaybedifferentiatedasfollows:
Vowelsarereplacedbyasetofrelativepitchrangesgenerallytrackingthef2formantofspoken
language.
Stressisexpressedbyhigherpitchorincreasedlength
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Consonantsareproducedbypitchtransitionsofdifferentlengthsandheight,plusthepresenceor
absenceofocclusion.("Labialstopsarereplacedbydiaphragmorglottalocclusions.")

Listofwhistledlanguages
Thefollowinglistisoflanguagesthatexistorexistedinawhistledform,orofethnicgroupsthatspeak
suchlanguages.Insomecases(e.g.Chinantec)thewhistledspeechisanimportantandintegralpartof
thelanguageandcultureinothers(e.g.Nahuatl)itsroleismuchlesser.
Americas
Alaska:Yupik[21][22]
UnitedStates:Taos
Mexico:Amuzgo,Chinantec,Ch'ol,Kickapoo,Mazatec,Nahuatl,Otomi,SayulaPopoluca,
Tepehua,Totonac,Zapotec,whistledSpanishinTlaxcala
Bolivia:Sirion
Colombia:Desano
Brazil:Pirah
Asia
China:Bai
Vietnam:Hmong[23]
Burma:Chin
Nepal:Chepang
Turkey:Turkish(villageofKuky)
forSiberianYupikinhabitantsofSt.LawrenceIsland,seeYupik,Alaska,America
mentionedabove
EuropeandCanaryIslands
France(villageofAas,Pyrenees):Occitanlanguage
Greece(villageofAntiaontheislandofEuboea)
Spain(LaGomeraandElHierro,CanaryIslands):"SilboGomero"
Africa
Ethiopia:Bench
WestAfrica:Bafia,Bape,Birifor,Bobo,Burunsi,Daguri,Diola,Ewe,Fongbe,Marka,
Ngwe,Twi,Tshi,Ule(amongothers)
Ghana:Nchumburu
Nigeria:Yoruba
Cameroun:Gbaya,Doohwaayo,Mofu
Oceania
NewGuinea:Gadsup,Binumarien,Abau,Polopa,Telefol,Bauzi,(possiblyTairoraand
Narak,inthelatterreportedlylinkedwiththespiritstalking)[24][25][26]

Seealso
Musicallanguage
Languageofthebirds
Solresol
Sweep(puppet)
WhistledspeechamongKickapooIndiansinMexico

Notes
1.Davis,Matt(24November2007)."AnIntroductiontoSineWaveSpeech".CognitionandBrainSciences
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Unit.Retrieved25February2014.
2.Busnel,R.G.andClasse,A.(1976)WhistledLanguages.NewYork:SpringerVerlag.ISBN0387077138.
3."AwhistledconversationinSochiapamChinantec".SummerInstituteofLinguisticsinMexico.
4.Asher,R.E.,andJ.M.Y.Simpson."WhistledSpeechandWhistledLanguage."TheEncyclopediaof
LanguageandLinguistics.Oxford:Pergamon,1994.57376.Print.
5.RitzenhalerRE&PetersonFA(1954).'CourtshipwhistlingoftheMexicanKickapooIndians.'American
Anthropologist56(6),10881089.
6.BusnelRG,AlguriG,GautheronB&RiallandA(1989).'Surquelquesaspectsphysiquesdelalangueton
siffledupeupleH'mong.'Cahiersdel'AsieduSudEst26,3952.BusnelRG
7.MeyerJ&DentelL(2003).'Theworldwhistles:scientificexpeditionandinternationalnetworkofcultural
collaborationsonthethemeofwhistledlanguagesandtalkingmusicalinstruments.'
http://www.lemondesiffle.free.fr.
8.MeyerJ.(2005)Typologyandintelligibilityofwhistledlanguages:approachinlinguisticsandbioacoustics.
PdDdissertation.Cyberthesepublication.Lyon2University.
9.Busnel,R.G.(1970)"RecherchesexprimentalessurlalanguesiffledeKuky",Revuedephontique
applique14/15:4157
10.Rialland,Annie.(2005).Phonologicalandphoneticaspectsofwhistledlanguages.Phonology,22,pp237271
doi:10.1017/S0952675705000552
11.MeyerJ.(2008)"Typologyandacousticstrategiesofwhistledlanguages:Phoneticcomparisonandperceptual
cuesofwhistledvowels",JournaloftheInternationalPhoneticAssociation38,1,6994.
12.ChristieMiller,Alexander(July16,2012)."TheRemoteVillageWherePeople'Talk'inIntricate,Ear
SplittingBirdWhistles".TheAtlantic.
13.Nijhuis,Michelle(August17,2015)."TheWhistledLanguageofNorthernTurkey".TheNewYorker.
14.Mair,VictorH.(1996),TheColumbiaAnthologyofTraditionalChineseLiterature,ColumbiaUniversity
Press,p.429.
15.Meyer,J.,andB.Gautheron."WhistledSpeechandWhistledLanguage."TheEncyclopediaofLanguageand
Linguistics.2ndEdition,Elsevier,Oxford,vol.13,2006,p.573576.Print.
16.Meyer,Julien.2004.Bioacousticsofhumanwhistledlanguages:analternativeapproachtothecognitive
processesoflanguage.AnnalsoftheBrazilianAcademyofSciences76(2):405412.
17.Shosted,RyanK.JustPutYourLipsTogetherandBlow?TheWhistledFricativesofSouthernBantu.
Www.linguistics.berkley.edu.N.p.,n.d.Web.1Apr.2014
<http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/PhonLab/annual_report/documents/2006/whistleISSP.pdf>.
18.Shadle,C.H.Experimentsontheacousticsofwhistling.ThePhysicsTeacher,21:148154,1983.
19.Shosted,RyanK.JustPutYourLipsTogetherandBlow?TheWhistledFricativesofSouthernBantu.
Www.linguistics.berkley.edu.N.p.,n.d.Web.1Apr.2014
<http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/PhonLab/annual_report/documents/2006/whistleISSP.pdf>.
20.AnnieRialland(2005).Phonologicalandphoneticaspectsofwhistledlanguages.Phonology,22,pp237271
doi:10.1017/S0952675705000552
21."WhistlingtoCommunicateinAlaska".21June2005.NationalPublicRadio.Missingorempty|series=
(help)
22."Yupiksentenceinspokenandwhistledform(Alaska)".Videotestimonies.TheWorldWhistlesResearch
Association.
23.Bioacousticsofhumanwhistledlanguages:analternativeapproachtothecognitiveprocessesoflanguage
(http://www.scielo.br/pdf/aabc/v76n2/a33v76n2.pdf)
24.SubjectofQuestion:whistlinglanguages(http://wwwpersonal.umich.edu/~jlawler/ask/whistle.html)
25.http://linguistlist.org/issues/6/61319.html
26.http://linguistlist.org/issues/7/71166.html

References
Foris,DavidPaul.2000.AgrammarofSochiapamChinantec.StudiesinChinanteclanguages6.Dallas:SIL
InternationalandUTArlington.
Rialland,A.(2005)"Phonologicalandphoneticaspectsofwhistledlanguages",Phonology22(2),pp.237
271.
MeyerJ.(2008)"Typologyandacousticstrategiesofwhistledlanguages:Phoneticcomparisonandperceptual
cuesofwhistledvowels",JournaloftheInternationalPhoneticAssociation38,1,6994.
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Externallinks
WhistlesintheMist:WhistledSpeechinOaxaca,Mexico(https://vimeo.com/57291304#)"Inthe
AmericaswithDavidYetman"documentaryinwhichGeorgetownUniversitylinguistMarkSicoli
conductsfieldworkwithspeaker/whistlersofSochipamChinantec
Ph.D.thesisonwhistledlanguages(http://www.lemondesiffle.free.fr/whistledLanguages.htm)
TheWorldWhistlesNetwork(http://www.lemondesiffle.free.fr)Aninternationalnetworkof
researchanddefenseonwhistledlanguages
AwhistledconversationinSochiapamChinantec(SILMexico)
(http://www.sil.org/mexico/chinanteca/sochiapam/13iConversacioncso.htm)
WhistlingtoCommunicateinAlaskafromNPR(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?
storyId=4713068)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whistled_language&oldid=689314836"
Categories: Whistledlanguages Historyoftelecommunications
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