Whistled language of the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands), the Silbo Gomero

Overview

The whistled language of La Gomera Island in the Canaries, the Silbo Gomero, replicates the islanders’ habitual language (Castilian Spanish) with whistling. Handed down over centuries from master to pupil, it is the only whistled language in the world that is fully developed and practised by a large community (more than 22,000 inhabitants). 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. The whistles can be distinguished according to pitch and whether they are interrupted or continuous. With practice, whistlers can convey any message. Some local variations even point to their origin. Taught in schools since 1999, the Silbo Gomero is understood by almost all islanders and practised by the vast majority, particularly the elderly and the young. It is also used...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: Spain
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Spain
Countries: Spain

How the System Works

Language, Story and Memory Land, Sea, Sky and Ecology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid5f933163-5979-443b-a0e8-8b78467a16cd

ich_public_ref172

inscription_year2009

title_enWhistled language of the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands), the Silbo Gomero

title_frLe langage sifflé de l’île de la Gomera (îles Canaries), le Silbo Gomero

type_of_element_enRepresentative List

type_acronymRL

countriesES

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/00172

concepts_primary_namesCommunication skills, Whistled language

concepts_secondary_namesApprenticeship, Everyday life, Language instruction, Linguistics, Rural environment, Rural population, Talent

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/00967-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enNot supplied

main_image_copyright2008, by Gouvernement des Canaries

main_image_authorNot supplied

videoshttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/PgEmSb0cKBg, https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/UbVz_okyY3g

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Communication skills Whistled language Apprenticeship Everyday life Language instruction Linguistics Rural environment Rural population Talent UNESCO representative list World Heritage connection: Risco Caido and the Sacred Mountains of Gran Canaria Cultural Landscape

Review and Corrections

If this record misstates authority, access, naming, language, source context or community preference, please request a review.

Suggest correction