List of Whistled Languages
The following list is of languages that exist or existed in a whistled form, or of ethnic groups that speak such languages. In some cases (e.g. Chinantec) the whistled speech is an important and integral part of the language and culture; in others (e.g. Nahuatl) its role is much lesser.
- Americas
- Alaska: Yupik
- United States: Taos
- Mexico: Amuzgo, Chinantec, Ch'ol, Kickapoo, Mazatec, Nahuatl, Otomi, Sayula Popoluca, Tepehua, Totonac, Zapotec, whistled Spanish in Tlaxcala
- Bolivia: Siriono
- Colombia: Desano
- Brazil: Pirahã
- Asia
- China: Bai
- Vietnam: Hmong
- Burma: Chin
- Nepal: Chepang
- Turkey: Turkish (village of Kuşköy)
- for Siberian Yupik inhabitants of St. Lawrence Island, see Yupik, Alaska, America mentioned above
- Europe and Canary Islands
- France (village of Aas, Pyrenees): Occitan language
- Greece (village of Antia on the island of Euboea)
- Spain (La Gomera and El Hierro, Canary Islands): "Silbo Gomero"
- Africa
- Ethiopia: Bench
- West Africa: Bafia, Bape, Birifor, Bobo, Burunsi, Daguri, Diola, Ewe, Fongbe, Marka, Ngwe, Twi, Tshi, Ule (among others)
- Ghana: Nchumburu
- Nigeria: Yoruba
- Cameroun: Gbaya, Doohwaayo, Mofu
- Oceania
- New Guinea: Gadsup, Binumarien, Abau, Polopa, Telefol, Bauzi, (possibly Tairora and Narak, in the latter reportedly linked with the spirits talking)
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Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, whistled and/or languages:
“Every morning I woke in dread, waiting for the day nurse to go on her rounds and announce from the list of names in her hand whether or not I was for shock treatment, the new and fashionable means of quieting people and of making them realize that orders are to be obeyed and floors are to be polished without anyone protesting and faces are to be made to be fixed into smiles and weeping is a crime.”
—Janet Frame (b. 1924)
“Modern tourist guides have helped raised tourist expectations. And they have provided the natives—from Kaiser Wilhelm down to the villagers of Chichacestenango—with a detailed and itemized list of what is expected of them and when. These are the up-to- date scripts for actors on the tourists’ stage.”
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)
“Alone and alone nine nights I lay
Between two bushes under the rain;
I thought to have whistled her down that way,
I whistled and whistled and whistled in vain.
Oro, oro!
To-morrow night I will break down the door.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those languages, or we remain mute.”
—J.G. (James Graham)