Not sure if it counts as a whistle but I always find it amusing how my wife, who's a Swedish speaking Finn, inhales sharply to say "yes".
More than eighty cultures still speak in whistles
41–50 of 119 posts
Re: More than eighty cultures still speak in whistles
#42There are no IPA keys for whistling.
Sure there are: [s͎˩˧˥˧˨˦˥˧˥˧˨˦] and so on. But really I see no reason why musical notation wouldn’t be sufficient. (I should note that’s not [s]; it’s [s͎] with an arrow below it. It’s hard to tell the difference with the font on my screen.)
That's interesting thanks! There's not much on wikipedia [0] about that character, but it does appear to be for whistled speech!
Re: More than eighty cultures still speak in whistles
#43> "still speak in whistles" "still"? Why is having more degrees of expressiveness in a vocal language considered an anachronism?
For the same reason you don't see a lot of carrier pigeons anymore: it's been supplanted by something easier requiring less training.
Re: More than eighty cultures still speak in whistles
#44I use whistling daily. I discovered my dog responds best to whistling, whenever he hears my whistle, he knows it's me and comes running. Now, I use that to my partner ironically, if I don't want to shout and hurt the vocal cords, just whistle and she knows her presence is requested.
>Now, I use that to my partner ironically, if I don't want to shout and hurt the vocal cords, just whistle and she knows her presence is requested. Or you know... you COULD walk over to where she is.
Yeah, my partner's family have a "family whistle" which is often employed to find one another. It's useful but also feels a little disrespectful.
Re: More than eighty cultures still speak in whistles
#45Not sure if it counts as a whistle but I always find it amusing how my wife, who's a Swedish speaking Finn, inhales sharply to say "yes".
That is a regional peculiarity specific to the northernmost parts of Sweden, and, I guess, the northernmost Swedish-speaking minority of Finland. Note: Sweden is very unevenly populated; the overwhelming majority of the population lives in the south half of the country, where also its three major cities are located. The northern parts of Sweden mostly consist of vast stretches of wilderness, forests, mountains, and people who talk funny.
Re: More than eighty cultures still speak in whistles
#46Not sure if it counts as a whistle but I always find it amusing how my wife, who's a Swedish speaking Finn, inhales sharply to say "yes".
If anyone is interested, [0] is what OP is talking about I think
Re: More than eighty cultures still speak in whistles
#47> "still speak in whistles" "still"? Why is having more degrees of expressiveness in a vocal language considered an anachronism?
Because languages gradually lose phoenetic features over time. Phonetic diversity is a primary method for determining the age of a language. Hawaiian is a recent language with just 8 consonants and !Kung is ancient with over 50 consonants. The same phenomenon occurs with DNA diversity. Here is an article with explanation: https://www.languagesoftheworld.info/bad-linguistics/phonemi...
> Because languages gradually lose phoenetic features over time
I don't think this is accurate. While it certainly does happen, new phonemic distinctions can certainly arise as languages change.
The article you link to does not support the idea either, in fact it explicitly contradicts it:
"Moreover, there is no bias towards decreasing the size of phonemic inventory over time as human populations moved out of Africa, as phonemes may be added as well as eliminated."
Re: More than eighty cultures still speak in whistles
#48Anyone learn to whistle, in any way or form, later in life? I've always wanted to but never been able to. I've tried a few types of whistles. The closest I've gotten is some quasi duck calls using my hands and whistling with the help of an acorn.
I actually did, from a Reddit thread that guided me through the process step by step. I’m having trouble finding the exact link at the moment, but it starts with slowly breathing out the letter “Q”. It’s not a loud, booming sound or anything, but I went from blowing soundless air for 20-odd years to actually whistling.
> I’m having trouble finding the exact link at the moment, but it starts with slowly breathing out the letter “Q”.
Thank you! That tip was all I needed to figure it out :)
Re: More than eighty cultures still speak in whistles
#49> "still speak in whistles" "still"? Why is having more degrees of expressiveness in a vocal language considered an anachronism?
Your interpretation of the title is not supported by the article’s content. In fact, you’re agreeing with it.
They call whistling languages "vestiges," a "protolanguage," and baselessly speculate that they originate from less-evolved primates. The writer's tone keeps reverting to subtly dismissive and colonialist.
Re: More than eighty cultures still speak in whistles
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably they worded it this way (assuming good intentions, of course) because whistle-based language forms were created as a tool to combat communication hurdles in a challenging terrain. With the development of long-range communication, I would dare to say it is amazing that there are still practitioners of whistled speech.
I remember walking in Andalusia an coming across a shepherd sitting on a grass bank, holding his head in his hands, talking to his sheep. It seemed I had stepped back in time and felt it was a very special moment. Looking back I saw he was actually on his mobile phone. Other forms of communication are available.
The shepherd i met in Romania had 2 cell phones. One for each side of the mountain