How does a whistled language work? The case of Silbo Gomero

On the Spanish island of La Gomera, in the Canary Islands, people can communicate by whistle. It's not just about grabbing someone's attention: it's a loyal transposition of the local Spanish, and it can potentially reproduce any other language.

Through the centuries, it's been used to communicate across the mountainous, volcanic island's long distances, and it's now helping scientists make ground-breaking discoveries about the human brain.

Chapters:
00:00 - 00:45 Intro
00:45 - 01:55 Francisco's story
01:55 - 02:29 Guess the whistle!
02:29 - 02:51 Why Silbo matters
02:51 - 03:51 What Silbo does to our brain
03:51 - 04:38 Whistling classes
04:38 - 05:21 How does Silbo work?
05:21 - 06:35 Silbo through the centuries
06:35 - 07:17 Conclusion

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There are more than 7,000 languages in the world, and around 40% of them are disappearing. Unesco estimates show that every two weeks, a language disappears. Raising voices is ENTR's series about Europe's disappearing languages and the people fighting to save them.