La Gomera is one of the Canary Islands situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa. This small volcanic island is mountainous, with steep rocky slopes and deep, wooded ravines, rising to 1,487 metres at its highest peak. It is also home to the best known of the world's whistle 'languages', a means of transmitting information over long distances which is perfectly adapted to the extreme terrain of the island.

戈梅拉岑是加那利群岛之一,位于大西洋中,靠近非洲西北部海岸。 这个小火山岛地形多山,有陡峭的岩石斜坡和树木繁茂的深谷,最高可达1,487米。 它也是世界上最著名的口哨“语言“的故乡,这是一种远距离传输信息的手段,完全适应了该岛的极端地形。

This 'language', known as 'Silbo' or 'Silbo Gomero' – from the Spanish word for 'whistle' – is now shedding light on the language-processing abilities of the human brain, according to scientists. Researchers say that Silbo activates parts of the brain normally associated with spoken language, suggesting that the brain is remarkably flexible in its ability to interpret sounds as language.

科学家称，这种被称为“Silbo“或“Silbo Gomero“的“语言“--来自西班牙语,意思是“唆“--现在正在揭示人类大脑的语言处理能力。 研究人员说,Silbo激活了大脑中通常与口语相关的部分,这表明大脑在将声音翻诙成语言的能力上具有极大的灵活性。

'Science has developed the idea of brain areas that are dedicated to language, and we are starting to understand the scope of signals that can be recognised as language,' says David Corina, co-author of a recent study and associate professor of psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle.

“科学已经研究出大脑中专门负责语言的区域这一概念,我们也开始了解可以被识别为语言的信号范围。”最近一项研究的作者之一、西雅图的华盛顿大学心理学副教授DavidCorina这样说。

Silbo is a substitute for Spanish, with individual words recoded into whistles which have high- and low-frequency tones. A whistler – or silbador – puts a finger in his or her mouth to increase the whistle's pitch, while the other hand can be cupped to adjust the direction of the sound. 'There is much more ambiguity in the whistled signal than in the spoken signal,' explains lead researcher Manuel Carreiras, psychology professor at the University of La Laguna on the Canary island of Tenerife. Because whistled 'words' can be hard to distinguish, silbadores rely on repetition, as well as awareness of context, to make themselves understood.

Silbo是西班牙语的替代品,每个单词都被重新编码成带有高低频音调的口哨声。 哨语者(或称为silbador)会把一根手指放进嘴里,以增加口哨的音高而另一只手可以弯成杯状,来调整声音的方名。 吹口哨的信号比说话的信号含意要模糊得多。“位于加那利群岛中的特内里费岛的拉拉古纳大学的心理学教授、首席研究员ManuelCarreiras这样解释。 因为口哨声中的“单词“很难分辨,所以哨语者依算重复和对语境的感知来让人理解它们。

The silbadores of Gomera are traditionally shepherds and other isolated mountain folk, and their novel means of staying in touch allows them to communicate over distances of up to 10 kilometres. Carreiras explains that silbadores are able to pass a surprising amount of information via their whistles. 'In daily life they use whistles to communicate short commands, but any Spanish sentence could be whistled.' Silbo has proved particularly useful when fires have occurred on the island and rapid communication across large areas has been vital.

戈梅拉岛的传统哨语者是牧羊人和其他与世隔绝的山区居民,他们保持联系的新奇方式使得他们相隔10公里也能够进行交流。Carreiras解释说,哨语者能够通过他们的口哨声传递数量惊人的信息。在日常生活中,他们用口哨声来传达简短的命令,但任何西班牙语句子都可以用口哨声来传达，“当岛上发生火灾时,Silbo被证明特别有用,大面积区域内的快速通讯至关重要。

The study team used neuroimaging equipment to contrast the brain activity of silbadores while listening to whistled and spoken Spanish. Results showed the left temporal lobe of the brain, which is usually associated with spoken language, was engaged during the processing of Silbo. The researchers found that other key regions in the brain's frontal lobe also responded to the whistles, including those activated in response to sign language among deaf people. When the experiments were repeated with non-whistlers, however, activation was observed in all areas of the brain.

研究团队使用神经成像设备对比了哨语者在听用口哨吹出来的西班牙语和讲出来的西班牙语时的大脑活动。 结果表明,大脑左侧颧叶(通常与口语相关)在处理Silbo时被激活。 研究人员发现,大脑额叶的其他关键区域也会对口哨做出反应,包括那些对聘哑人的手语做出反应的区域。然而,当对非哨语者重复进行实验时,发现大脑的所有区域都被激活了。

'Our results provide more evidence about the flexibility of human capacity for language in a variety of forms,' Corina says. 'These data suggest that left-hemisphere language regions are uniquely adapted for communicative purposes, independent of the modality of signal. The non- Silbo speakers were not recognising Silbo as a language. They had nothing to grab onto, so multiple areas of their brains were activated.'

“我们的研究结果提供了更多的证据，证明人类在各种形式的语言能力上具有灵活性在。”Corina说。“这些数据表明,大脑左半球的语言区域具有独特的沟通功能,不受信号形式的影响。 非哨语使用者不能识别出Silbo是一种语言。他们没有可抓取的信号,所以他们大脑的多个区域都被激活了。

Carreiras says the origins of Silbo Gomero remain obscure, but that indigenous Canary Islanders, who were of North African origin, already had a whistled language when Spain conquered the volcanic islands in the 15th century. Whistled languages survive today in Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Vietnam, Guyana, China, Nepal, Senegal, and a few mountainous pockets in southern Europe. There are thought to be as many as 70 whistled languages still in use, though only 12 have been described and studied scientifically. This form of communication is an adaptation found among cultures where people are often isolated from each other, according to Julien Meyer, a researcher at the Institute of Human Sciences in Lyon, France. 'They are mostly used in mountains or dense forests,' he says. 'Whistled languages are quite clearly defined and represent an original adaptation of the spoken language for the needs of isolated human groups.'

Carreiras说，SilboGomero的起源至今仍不清楚,但加那利群岛的北非裔土著居民,在15世纪西班牙征服这些火山岛时,就已经掌握了一门口哨语言。 如今,口哨语言在巴布亚新几内亚、墨西哥、越南、圭亚那、中国、尼汨尔、塞内加尔以及南欧的一些山区仍然存在。据认为,目前仍在使用的口哨语言多达70种,但只有12种被科学地描述和研究过。法国里昂人类科学研究所的究员Julien Meyer表示,这种交流方式是在人们彼此孤立的文化中发现的一种改编。“它们主要用于山区或戈密的森林中。“他说”口哨语言的定义非常明确,代表了为满足孤立人类群体的需求而对口圣的一种原始改编。

But with modern communication technology now widely available, researchers say whistled languages like Silbo are threatened with extinction. With dwindling numbers of Gomera islanders still fluent in the language, Canaries' authorities are taking steps to try to ensure its survival.

但随着现代通信技术的广泛应用,研究人员表示,像Silbo这样的口哨语言正面临消亡的威胁。 随着戈梅拉岛上能流利使用这门语言的人数不断减少,加那利群岛政府正在采取措施,以确保这门语言的延续。

Since 1999, Silbo Gomero has been taught in all of the island's elementary schools. In addition, locals are seeking assistance from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 'The local authorities are trying to get an award from the organisation to declare [Silbo Gomero] as something that should be preserved for humanity,' Carreiras adds.

目1999年以来,岛上所有的小学都开设了Silbo Gomero这门外语课。此外,当地人正在寻求联合国教科文组织(UNESCO)的援助。“当地政府正试图从该组织获得一项认定,以宣布Silbo Gomer是人类应该保护的语言“Carreiras补充道。