Whistling in the Wind: Preserving a Language Without Words

On La Gomera, a small island in Spain’s Canary Islands, the last speakers of a language without words reside. “El Silbo,” a whistled communication used in rural and isolated areas, is dying out as islanders embrace digital communication and move to cities and the mainland. Even so, El Silbo has a firm place in the island’s culture. Some of La Gomera’s schools are teaching the language and in 2009, UNESCO declared it as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Our friends Jungles in Paris bring us this story of whistling in the wind.

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