Languages that use whistles and clicking sounds, not words
There are 7000 known languages across the globe. Despite the wide range of languages, about half the world's population only knows how to speak five to ten languages at best. It means there exist thousands of different languages you don't even know. Many languages remain restricted to small parts of the world. Some of these languages are unique and only spoken by a few hundred people. Let us learn about three such languages!
Silbo Gomero, the language of whistles
Did you know that whistle can be a fully developed language? Yes. The Silbo Gomero is a whistled language spoken by the native La Gomera people in the Canary Islands. It is the only whistled language that is complete in its development. It is used by a huge community of more than 22,000 inhabitants. The islanders spoke Silbo Gomero as early as the 14th century (maybe even earlier), and the language has been passed down over centuries from master to pupil.
In this whistled language, a different whistling sound replaces each vowel and consonant. There are four whistles for consonants and two distinct whistles for each of the five Spanish vowels. Characteristics such as pitch, tone, and whether they are interrupted or uninterrupted help differentiate between the whistles. With practice, whistlers can communicate any message.
The different pitches and tones are produced by cupping the hands. This action produces an effect that is incredibly close to spoken words. Although it could appear a little ostentatious to outsiders, this mode of communication is efficient. It allows people to communicate over terrain, such as ravines and gorges.
Most islanders, especially the younger and elderly ones, speak this language. Silbo Gomero has been taught in schools since 1999 to prevent it from extinction like other whistle languages.
Xhosa, the language of clicking sounds
Among the 11 official languages of South Africa, Xhosa is the most extensively used. The AmaXhosa ethnic group mainly speak Xhosa, with around 8.3 million South Africans identifying Xhosa as their mother tongue. Officially known as isiXhosa, the name of the language is derived from the phrase ‘Xhosa,’ meaning ‘angry men.’ The two languages that have influenced this language are English and Afrikaans.
Xhosa is categorised as a Bantu language. Bantu languages is an umbrella term for languages belonging to the Niger-Congo language family. It is divided into dialects such as Xhosa (original), Gcaleka, Bhaca, Ngqika, Thembu, Mpondomise, Mfengu, Mpondo, and Bomvana.
What makes this language unique and distinctive? The answer lies in the various clicking sounds produced by the tongue, represented by the letters c, x, and q.
In the tonal language Xhosa, 15 clicks serve as consonants. These consonants are further split into three categories: Dental clicks, in which a person's tongue touches their teeth, produce a sound similar to 'tut-tut’; alveolar clicks, where the tongue touches the palate and produce an audible sound like a cork-popping; lateral clicks, where the tongue touches the sides of the mouth, producing a sound like calling a horse.
Will you find learning Xhosa challenging? Yes, you probably will! It is because the consonants are rare and heavily crowded.
Pirahã, the language with no numbers
How would you communicate if numbers and colours didn't exist in your language? Would you find it impossible? Maybe, but that is not the case for some.
Pirahã hunter-gatherers, dwelling in the Amazonian jungle of northwest Brazil around the Maici River, speak a language disconnected from all other languages. The hunter-tribes were believed to have migrated to the region after their language was established. Pirahã is the only surviving dialect from the Mura language family (the language of Amazonas).
The Pirahã-speaking people do not utilise numbers or count as we do. Not only that, they don't physically represent numbers either. They substitute comparison words like 'larger' or 'smaller' for numbers. In the case of numbers and amounts, items are designated as 'many' or 'few'.
The Pirahã dialect does not have colours either! They do not divide the colour spectrum into more subdued or specific hues like teal, brown, or taupe. It does not mean they are colourblind. For us, it could be challenging or even impossible to imagine this. However, Pirahã has substitutes.
The Pirahã think of colours in relative terms, just like they do with numbers. In other words, something can be 'darker' or 'like blood.' They refer to colours as shades, 'light' and 'dark,' rather than specific hues like 'red' and 'purple.'
Those who speak the language can communicate fluently without any trouble. You would be amazed to know that Pirahã is also simpler to learn than other strange languages!