Kuşköy is a small farming village located in the Pontic Mountains in northern Turkey. For three centuries, farmers living here have communicated across valleys by whistling in a language called kuş dili. Though it is still used to this day, the rise of the cell phone has meant fewer and fewer people are learning it.
Kuş dili is also known as bird language. To non-speakers, or non-whistlers, it’s hard to imagine humans being able to communicate across such vast distances, but thankfully Muazzez Köçek explained how it works.
Köçek is the best kuş dili speaker in the village, and uses varying pitch frequencies and melodies to translate Turkish vocabulary into whistles with a wide array of meanings.
Kuşköy is set on a deep valley in the Pontic Mountains and whistles can travel significantly further than shouting.
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The advent of cell phones has made instant phone calls an easier alternative, however, and led to fears that kuş dili may soon be forgotten. As a result, elders in Kuşköy are trying to preserve their language by teaching it at primary schools and holding festivals celebrating the unique language.
But this is not the only issue facing kuş dili. The remote location of Kuşköy means that more young people are leaving the area in search of higher education and broader career opportunities.
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